President's Trophy Grade-I: Hasan, Abdullah dominate Ghani Glass to give SBP lead

ISLAMABAD: Openers Hasan Raza and Abdullah Fazal completely outclassed the Ghani Glass bowlers on the second day and put State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) into the lead in their third-round President's Trophy Grade-I match here at the National Ground on Friday.

At the stumps on the day, the SBP were well-placed at 378/0, leading by 56 runs, with both openers Hasan and Abdullah set in the middle.

Earlier in the day, Ghani Glass resumed their first innings from 263/6 but could add 59 more to their overnight score despite Ali Razzaq's century and were thus bowled out for 322 in 84.1 overs.

Razzaq, who was unbeaten on 62 at the conclusion of the opening day's play, went on to top-score for Ghani Glass with 101 off 129 deliveries, laced with 13 fours and three sixes.

For SBP, Arshadullah and Shahid Aziz bagged three wickets each, followed by Sirajuddin with two, while Kashif Bhatti and Mubasir Khan made one scalp apiece.

In turn, Hasan and Abdullah, opening the innings for SBP, completely outclassed Ghani Glass's bowling attack and went on to conclude the pulsating second day with an unbeaten 378-run partnership.

Hasan dominated SBP's ruthless batting show with an unbeaten century and remained their top-scorer with 204 off 203 deliveries, studded with 28 fours and two sixes, while Abdullah has made 168 not out from 207 balls, smashing 19 fours and four sixes.

At the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium in Abbottabad, Sarmad Bhatti's unbeaten century, coupled with Faheem Ashraf's anchoring half-century, helped Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) bolster their first-innings total to 377/8 against Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) on the second day.

Bhatti resumed KRL's first innings from 202/5 alongside Asim Ali and went on to bat through the day, which remained largely affected due to inclement weather.

Bhatti lost his overnight partner Asim early, but was then joined by Faheem, and the duo then raised a sensational 145-run partnership, which concluded with the all-rounder's dismissal, who made 83 off 100 deliveries with the help of 16 fours.

The middle-order batter then shared a one-sided 23-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Arshadullah Iqbal (eight), whose dismissal prompted the on-field umpires to call for stumps.

Bhatti remained the top-scorer for KRL with an unbeaten 122 off 198 deliveries, studded with 21 fours, and will now resume their first innings on the penultimate day alongside Mohammad Hamza, who has made four not out.

Mohammad Hasnain has been the standout bowler for OGDCL in the first innings, having picked up three wickets, while Razaullah has bagged two.

In another third-round President's Trophy Grade-I match, a collective effort from the batters after Atiq-ur-Rehman's anchoring century on the opening day, followed by Muhammad Ismail's twin strike, put Markhor IT (MIT) Solutions in control against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL).

At the stumps on day two, SNGPL were reeling at 32/3, trailing by a massive 402 runs, with middle-order batters Omair Bin Yousuf and Athar Mahmood unbeaten on eight and zero, respectively.

The pulsating day commenced when MIT Solutions resumed their first innings from 258/3 through overnight centurion Atiq and Syed Awad Naqvi and went on to add 176 more to their total before declaring at 434/9 in 126.5 overs.

Atiq could add two more to his overnight score and thus walked back early after top-scoring with 138 off 207 deliveries, studded with 17 boundaries, while Awad finished with a cautious 78 off 258 deliveries before being cleaned up by SNGPL captain Sajid Khan.

Following their departure, Abuzar Tariq and Ismail, 35 each, Samama Riaz and captain Khalid Usman, 33 each, made handy contributions to MIT Solutions before the declaration.

Mohammad Imran was the standout bowler for SNGPL as he picked up three wickets for 54 runs in his 25 overs, followed by Mohammad Azab and Naseem Shah with two each, while Athar and Sajid could claim one apiece.

In turn, Ismail and Mohammad Imran collectively rocked SNGPL's top-order, comprising Azan Awais (14), Sameer Minhas (four) and Abdullah Shafique (two), and thus reduced them to 28/3.

Omair and Athar then batted cautiously in the dying minutes of the day, putting together four runs for the fourth wicket, and will now resume their innings on the penultimate day with a massive deficit to neutralise.

At the Diamond Cricket Ground here, Muhammad Hurraira's unbeaten century scripted Kingsmen Academy's strong response to Pakistan Television's (PTV) 355 all out on the second day of their third-round President's Trophy Grade-I match.

The pulsating day got underway with PTV resuming their first innings from 285/7 through Sharoon Siraj and Muhammad Musa, who stretched their overnight partnership for the eighth wicket to 71 runs, ensuring a promising start.

Siraj made 72 off 128 deliveries, while Musa contributed with a 50-ball 40. Mohammad Shahzad, who scored the fastest century by a Pakistani in first-class cricket on the opening day, remained their top-scorer with 114 off 62 deliveries.

Mohammad Ilyas was the standout bowler for Kingsmen Academy with a five-wicket haul, for which he conceded 129 in 15 overs. Mohammad Umar and Shoaib Afridi bagged two wickets each, while Zia-ul-Haq made one scalp.

In response to PTV's 355 all out, Kingsmen Academy got off to a contrasting start to their innings as they lost captain Tayyab Arif (24) early with just 36 runs on the board.

Following the early stutter, Mohammad Suleman joined Hurraira in the middle, and the duo stabilised Kingsmen Academy's innings by raising a 186-run partnership for the second wicket.

Kashif Ali, who gave PTV an early breakthrough by dismissing Tayyab, was also accounted for breaking the threatening partnership by getting rid of Suleman, who walked back after scoring 71 off 122 deliveries, laced with four fours and three sixes.

Azan was then joined by Test batter Saud Shakeel in the middle, and the opener one-sidedly added 12 runs for their unbeaten third-wicket partnership, helping Kingsmen Academy finish the day at 237/2, with their deficit reduced to 118 runs with eight wickets in hand.

The left-handed opener remained the top-scorer with an unbeaten 133 off 225 deliveries, laced with 20 boundaries, and will resume Kingsmen Academy's response on the penultimate day alongside Shakeel, who is yet to open his scoring.