Pacers put MIT Solutions on top in President’s Trophy Grade-II final

ABBOTTABAD: Pacers Raza Ullah and Shahab Khan helped MIT Solutions to book Sahir Associates on 272 on the opening day of the President’s Trophy Grade-II final here at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Opting to bat first, Sahir Associates suffered an early setback as opening batter Saad Athar fell for a golden duck.

Asim Ali Nasir (25) and Fahad Usman then put together an anchoring 53-run partnership for the second wicket until the former was dismissed by Raza Ullah in the 10th over.

Fahad followed suit six overs later as he fell victim to right-arm pacer Kaleem Ullah Khan after scoring 26 off 48 deliveries, resulting in Sahir Associates slipping to 63/3 in 16 overs.

Coming out to bat at number four, Muhammad Saleem then took the reins of Sahir Associates’ batting charge with a gutsy half-century.

He was involved in crucial partnerships with Ahmer Ashfaq (43), Mohsin Khan (34) and Muhammad Kashif (27) until eventually falling victim to Shahab Khan after top-scoring with a 139-ball 58.

His dismissal had reduced Sahir Associates to 242/7 but handy contributions from lower-order batters Khawaja Muhammad Abdullah (14) and Shahid Ali (12) bolstered them past the 270-run mark.

Raza Ullah was the standout bowler for MIT Solutions, taking four wickets, while Shahab strongly supported by claiming three. Kaleem Ullah and Mehrooz Rasheed, on the other hand, made one scalp apiece.

In response to Sahir Associates’ 272 all out, MIT Solutions could only muster 46 runs for the loss of one wicket until the stumps were drawn.

Left-handed batter opener Husnain Nadeem was dismissed for 18 after sharing a 35-run opening partnership with Zain Ishaq, who remained unbeaten on 21.

It is pertinent to mention that the winner of the ongoing four-day final will qualify for the President's Trophy Grade-I.