Central Punjab fast bowler Mohammad Ali put his side in a commanding position on day two of their four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2022-23 match against Southern Punjab with a brilliant six for 59 at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

Central Punjab are leading Southern Punjab by 106 runs with 10 wickets in hand, as, at stumps, they were four for none in the second innings.

Southern Punjab were bowled out for 200 in 50 overs with number seven Muhammad Imran’s 71 off 112 being the top score. The other notable contributions in the innings were from opener Zain Abbas (46) and Ali Usman (43) and the only other batter to score in double-figures was Mohammad Ilyas, who made 17.

Ali, the right-arm medium fast, accounted for Sharoon Siraj, Salman Ali Agha, Azam Khan, Imran, Ilyas and Mohammad Sadaqat to record what his career’s fifth five-wicket haul.

Central Punjab turned their overnight score of 244 for six into 302 all out with Faheem Ashraf converting his overnight 67 into 87. The all-rounder batted for a total of 131 balls and hit 13 fours.

Sarmad Bhatti’s blistering 114 at a strike rate of 97 further strengthened top-ranked Northern’s grip on their match against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as it put the latter under a trail of 74. Northern, however, were bowled out for 249 in 61.2 overs as Ihsanullah picked up a five-fer and returned five for 70 in 14 overs.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa trailed by 56 and had nine wickets in hand after Athar Mehmood bowled Waqar Ahmed. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will resume their second innings at 18 for one.

Sindh captain Saud Shakeel and Fawad Alam scored half-centuries against Balochistan at the Pindi Cricket Stadium. Balochistan added only 13 runs to their yesterday’s score before they were bowled out for 269 with Ghulam Mudassar taking five wickets for 73.

Sindh were 215 for seven in 65 overs and Saud, the leading run-getter in the innings, was not out on 81 off 170 balls. He had struck seven fours.

Fawad made 51 off 82 – hitting three fours.

Brief Scores:

Toss uncontested – Southern Punjab opt to field against Central Punjab at the Multan Cricket Stadium

Central Punjab 302 all out, 92.5 overs (Faheem Ashraf 87, Azhar Ali 61, Mohammad Saad 44; Sameen Gul 4-67, Mohammad Sadaqat 3-67, Mohammad Ilyas 2-61) and 4-0, 1 over

Southern Punjab 200 all out, 50 overs (Muhammad Imran 71, Zain Abbas 46, Ali Usman 43; Mohammad Ali 6-59, Faheem Ashraf 2-37, Umaid Asif 2-57)

Toss uncontested – Northern opt to field against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 175, 38.5 overs (Waqar Ahmed 35, Sajid Khan 27, Imran Khan Snr 25, Sahibzada Farhan 21, Mohammad Sarwar Afridi 20; Aamir Jamal 5-38, Athar Mehmood 3-95) and 18-1, 6 overs (Athar Mehmood 1-9)

Northern 249 all out, 61.2 overs (Sarmad Bhatti 114, Faizan Riaz 22; Ihsanullah 5-70, Imran Khan Snr 3-70)

Toss uncontested – Sindh opt to field against Balochistan at the Pindi Cricket Stadium

Balochistan 269 all out, 90.5 overs (Haseebullah 67, Imran Butt 60, Hussain Talat 55, Haris Sohail 50, Asad Shafiq 27; Ghulam Mudassar 5-73, Abrar Ahmed 3-93, Muhammad Umar 2-36)

Sindh 215-7, 65 overs (Saud Shakeel 81 not out, Fawad Alam 51, Saim Ayub 30; Asad Shafiq 2-14, Khurram Shahzad 2-63).