Umar Akmal heroics inspire WAPDA to four-wicket win

Monitoring Desk

KARACHI: The second round of President’s Trophy Grade-I came to an end as Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) secured the game against Higher Education Commission (HEC) with a four-wicket win on day four.

Umar Akmal scored back-to-back fifties in the game to inspire his team to second win of the tournament. Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) had won their respective games the previous day.

WAPDA continued from their overnight score of 114-4. They lost two more wickets while chasing the 220-run target. Umar Akmal (85, 203b, 10x4s) and Ayaz Tasawar (65, 125b, 10x4s) stretched their fifth-wicket partnership to 98 before the former fell to Aqib Liaqat. Bismillah Khan (17 not out, 22b, 2x4s, 1×6) hit the winning runs as WAPDA got home with two sessions remaining and four wickets in the bag.

HEC’s Mohammad Junaid picked up three wickets to keep his team in the game but it went in vain. Aqib Liaqat also bagged two wickets while Mohammad Azab’s lone wicket came on day three. At the end of second round, WAPDA skipper Iftikhar Ahmed is leading the batting chart with 386 runs while his fellow teammate Asif Afridi sits on top of leading wicket taker’s list having taken 11 wickets.

The third round of the tournament will kick off on 28 December.

Scores in brief:

WAPDA beat HEC by four wickets at National Bank Stadium
HEC 327-7, 80 overs (Awais Zafar 178 not out, Mohammad Mohsin Khan 43, Jahanzaib Sultan 20; Iftikhar Ahmed 3-88, Irfanullah Shah 2-67, Naqeeb Masood 1-61, Asif Afridi 1-83) and 283 all out, 67 overs (Ghazi Ghouri 110, Mohammad Mohsin Khan 60, Awais Zafar 57; Irfanullah Shah 3-39, Iftikhar Ahmed 3-40, Naqeebullah Masood 2-56, Asif Afridi 2-83)

WAPDA 391-4, 80 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 123, Mohammad Saad 102 not out, Umar Akmal 87; Aqib Liaqat 2-124, Mohammad Azab 1-56) and 221-6, 79.2 overs (Umar Akmal 85, Ayaz Tasawar 65; Mohammad Junaid 3-81, Aqib Liaqat 2-35, Mohammad Azab 1-25)

KRL beat Ghani Glass by one wicket at State Bank Stadium

Ghani Glass 363-7, 80 overs (Saeed Malik 105 not out, Shahbaz Javed 74, Saad Naseem 58; Kashif Ali 3-61, Arshadullah 2-117, Sirajuddin 1-35, Shayan Sheikh 1-93) and 79 all out, 26.2 overs (Kashif Ali 19, Shahbaz Javed 17; Sirajuddin 4-7, Kashif Ali 4-33, Arshadullah 2-37)

KRL 320-8, 80 overs (Maaz Sadaqat 84 not out, Ali Zaryab 65, Sarmad Bhatti 54; Niaz Khan 4-107, Saeed Malik 2-41, Hussain Talat 1-41, Bilawal Iqbal 1-63) and 123-9, 35.2 overs (Kashif Ali 30 not out, Abdul Faseeh 15, Rohail Nazir 13; Ghulam Mudassar 4-32, Niaz Khan 4-61, Bilawal Iqbal 1-24)

SNGPL beat PTV by eight wickets at UBL Sports Complex

PTV 317 all out, 79.2 overs (Uzair Mumtaz 108, Hasan Mohsin 59, Ahmed Safi Abdullah 46; Arif Yaqoob 4-97, Mohammad Awais Anwar 3-47, Bilawal Bhatti 1-31, Mohammad Ali 1-50, Mubasir Khan 1-73) and 189 all out, 49.1 overs (Hasan Nawaz 69, Nasir Nawaz 62, Mohammad Suleman 21, Jahandad Khan 21; Arif Yaqoob 6-80, Mohammad Ali 2-43, Bilawal Bhatti 1-25, Mohammad Awais Anwar 1-33)
SNGPL 424-7, 80 overs (Abid Ali 121, Omair Bin Yousuf 120, Haseebullah 76; Adil Naz 3-83, Ahmed Safi Abdullah 1-86, Jahandad Khan 1-90) and 85-2, 21 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 51, Abid Ali 18, Asad Shafiq 9 not out; Faisal Akram 1-19, Ahmed Safi Abdullah 1-34).