President's Trophy Grade-I: Ghani Glass hand MIT Solutions innings defeat in fourth round

ABBOTTABAD: Captain Mohsin Riaz's anchoring century, followed by Ali Shabbir's four-wicket haul, propelled Ghani Glass to an innings and 140-run victory over Markhor IT (MIT) Solutions on the second day of their fourth-round President's Trophy Grade-I match here at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

At the commencement of the decisive second day, Ghani Glass resumed their first innings from 191/4 in response to MIT Solutions' 150 all out and went on to add 225 more to their overnight total, courtesy of Riaz's century.

Consequently, Ghani Glass concluded their first innings at 416 all out in 100.4 overs, securing a massive 266-run lead over MIT Solutions.

Riaz, who resumed Ghani Glass's first innings at the start of the second day's play, went on to top-score for his side with an anchoring century, making 124 off 212 deliveries, studded with 12 fours and two sixes.

He was thoroughly supported by lower-middle-order batters Shadab Khan (68), Ali Razzaq and Khurram Shahzad, 52 each, who contributed with respective half-centuries.

Mohammad Ismail was the standout bowler for MIT Solutions as he picked up six wickets for 136 runs in his 30.4 overs, followed by Samama Riaz with two, while Mohammad Imran Jnr and Abdullah Hamdani made one scalp apiece.

With a massive 225-run deficit to counter, MIT Solutions' batting unit faltered and could only accumulate 126 before getting bowled out in 32.4 overs and thus succumbed to an innings defeat.

Syed Awad Naqvi waged a lone battle for MIT Solutions in the second innings and top-scored with an unbeaten 28, while No.9 Samama was the other notable run-getter as he made a run-a-ball 17.

Shabbir spearheaded Ghani Glass's bowling charge in the second innings as he picked up four wickets for just 23 runs in his 10 overs, followed by Khurram and Mirza Tahir Baig with two each, while Shoaib Akhtar Jnr and Shadab chipped in with one scalp apiece.

At the Diamond Cricket Ground in Islamabad, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited's (OGDCL) batting failure in the second innings also saw them set a modest 124-run target to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) despite Aftab Ahmad's five-wicket haul on the second day of their fourth-round President's Trophy Grade-I match.

The match-defining second day began with SBP resuming their first innings from 94/3 in response to OGDCL's 196 all out but could only add 121 more to their overnight score despite Rameez Aziz's gutsy knock as Aftab derailed their expedition towards a substantial lead.

No.7 Rameez offered notable resistance against the Aftab-led OGDCL bowling attack and played a pivotal role in bolstering their total past the 200-run mark with a gutsy 43 off 76 deliveries.

In-form opener Hasan Raza, however, remained their top-scorer with 58 off 125 deliveries, while captain Ghazi Ghori was the other notable run-getter with his 58-ball 39.

Aftab led OGDCL's bowling charge with five wickets for 68 runs in his 17.1 overs, followed by Mohammad Amir Khan with three, while Niaz Khan and Mohammad Hasnain made one scalp apiece.

With only a 19-run deficit to counter, OGDCL, also featuring Pakistan Test captain Babar Azam, could only muster 142 before getting bowled out in 29.2 overs despite No.9 Amir's resilience with the bat.

Amir top-scored for the side in the second innings with an unbeaten 46 off just 19 deliveries, laced with four sixes and as many fours, while Saad Khan (22) and star batter Babar (21) were the other notable run-getters.

Afaq Afridi led SBP's ruthless bowling charge with a five-wicket haul, for which he conceded 44 runs in his 8.2 overs. He was supported by Sirajuddin, who bagged three wickets, while Shahid Aziz and Naqeebullah chipped in with one scalp apiece.

At the Imran Khan Cricket Stadium in Peshawar, four-wicket hauls by Athar Mehmood and Abdul Subhan gave Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) a massive 194-run lead over Pakistan Television (PTV) on the second day of their fourth-round President's Trophy Grade-I match.

SNGPL started the second day by resuming their first innings from 277/3 through overnight centurion Azan Awais and set-batter Omair Bin Yousuf, but could add 70 more to their score for the remaining seven wickets and were thus bowled out for 347 in 104.4 overs.

Azan remained the top-scorer for SNGPL with a monumental 167 off 317 deliveries, studded with 19 fours and a six, followed by Omair, who made a 151-ball 82.

Muhammad Shahzad was the pick of the bowlers for PTV as he claimed four wickets for 53 runs in his 15 overs, followed by Israr Hussain with three, while Ali Usman bagged two.

In response, PTV's batting unit was rocked by Athar and Subhan, and they could only muster 153 before getting bowled out in 42.4 overs.

No.8 Ali remained their top-scorer with a 46-ball 35, while Sharoon Siraj (29) and Mohammad Ammar (23) were the other notable run-getters.

Athar and Subhan jointly led SNGPL's bowling charge with four wickets each, while Shahnawaz Dahani chipped in with two scalps.

In another fourth-round President's Trophy Grade-I match, Mohammad Faiq's unbeaten half-century scripted Khan Research Laboratories' (KRL) spirited response to Kingsmen Academy's mammoth total on the second day at the National Cricket Ground in Islamabad.

At the commencement of the second day, Kingsmen resumed their first innings from 430/3 through overnight centurions Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Suleman, and went on to pile up a massive total of 643/8 before declaring after 127 overs.

Suleman remained the top-scorer for Kingsmen as he converted his overnight century into an 182-run knock, which came off 278 deliveries, and featured 14 boundaries, including two sixes. Agha, on the other hand, went on to score 145 off 165 deliveries, laced with 13 fours and three sixes.

Besides them, Mohammad Shayan and Mohammad Ilyas added valuable runs to Kingsmen Academy's first-innings total with 44 each.

Mystery spinner Usman Tariq was the standout bowler for KRL as he picked up four wickets for 153 runs in his 35 overs, followed by captain Iftikhar Ahmed with two, while Arshad Iqbal and Faheem Ashraf made one scalp apiece.

In turn, Faiq's unbeaten half-century helped KRL reduce the deficit to 468 runs with eight wickets in hand as they concluded the day at 175/2 in 45 overs.

KRL, however, had a contrasting start to their response as they lost opener Asim Ali Nasir (zero) early with just nine runs on the board.

Following the early setback, Faiq joined another opener, Shahzaib Khan, in the middle, and the duo batted sensibly to put together an important 80-run partnership for the second wicket.

Mehran Mumtaz eventually broke the budding partnership by dismissing the opener, who walked back after scoring 33 off 63 deliveries with the help of five fours.

Captain Iftikhar then joined Faiq in the middle, and the duo ensured KRL did not suffer further setbacks on the pulsating second day by raising an unbeaten 89-run partnership for the third wicket.

Faiq remained the top-scorer for KRL in the first innings with an unbeaten 76 off 131 deliveries, while Iftikhar had scored 45 not out from 63 balls before stumps. The duo will resume KRL's response on the penultimate day as they trail Kingsmen Academy by a further 468 runs.