Northern V Southern Punjab Ends In A Draw

Northern v Southern Punjab ends in a draw

The four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy eighth round fixture between Northern and Southern Punjab ended in draw as only 47 overs were bowled due to rain on the final day at Rawalpindi’s KRL Stadium

Rawalpindi (Pakistan Point News - 21st Nov, 2019) The four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy eighth round fixture between Northern and Southern Punjab ended in draw as only 47 overs were bowled due to rain on the final day at Rawalpindi’s KRL Stadium.

With Southern Punjab trailing by 119 runs, Northern eyed their second consecutive win in the tournament when play resumed on day four.

However, a remarkable century by Umar Siddiq helped his side to surmount the trail.

The left-handed batsman cracked 107 runs from 151 balls, hitting 13 fours, and constructed a crucial 135-run partnership for the second-wicket with Zeeshan Ashraf, who with 101-ball 52 scored his second half-century of the match.

Like Zeeshan, Umar had also recorded a half-century in Southern Punjab’s first innings.

Sohaib Maqsood’s 11th half-century in the format further strengthened Southern Punjab’s position in the innings.

The 32-year-old right-handed batsman scored a blistering 54-ball 52, which was studded with five fours and two sixes.

Abdul Rehman Muzamil (38) and Adnan Akmal (0) batted when play was interrupted due to rain.

For Northern their captain Nauman Ali, Sadaf Hussain and Shadab Khan picked up a wicket each on Thursday.

Southern Punjab, who have slipped to the third position after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s win over Balochistan, play Sindh, ranked fifth, in the ninth round of the tournament at the National Stadium. Fourth-ranked Northern take on Balochistan, positioned at the bottom of the points table, at UBL Sports Complex.

Scores in Brief:

Northern 463-7d, 109.4 overs (Hammad Azam 100 not out, Umar Amin 90, Ali Sarfaraz 73, Zeeshan Malik 45, Jamal Anwar 44, Faizan Riaz 39, Nauman Ali 37; Mohammad Irfan 5-158)

Southern Punjab 268 all-out, 81.5 overs (Umar Siddiq 60, Zeeshan Ashraf 57, Adnan Akmal 45; Shadab Khan 3-33, Waqas Ahmad 2-53) and after follow-on 271-4, 74 overs (Umar Siddiq 107, Zeeshan Ashraf 52, Sohaib Maqsood 52, Abdul Rehman Muzamil 38 not out; Shadab Khan 2-70)

Result: Match drawn