Pentangular Cup, 2nd round, 2nd day

Batsmen put Federal Areas in command

Cricinfo staff

February 23, 2008

Federal Areas 441 for 7 (Ashraf 141, Saeed 109, Majeed 98, Hussain 3-71) lead Baluchistan 253 by 188 runs
Scorecard

Federal Areas began the second day on 79 for 3 in Karachi and were in a position where they could have frittered away the advantage of having restricted Baluchistan to 253. However, their batsmen produced a solid performance and they finished the day with a lead of 188.

Raheel Majeed and Usman Saeed, who produced impressive performances in against Punjab, set the day's tone for run-scoring, adding 94 before their 121-run fourth-wicket stand came to an end.

Majeed fell for 98 to Bilal Khilji, while Usman Saeed was trapped leg-before by Kamran Hussain for 109, which included 16 boundaries. Naved Ashraf, the Federal Areas captain, ensured more misery for the Baluchistan bowlers, as he scored a brisk 141 off 200 balls, studded with 24 fours and two sixes.

Left-arm spinner Saeed Anwar ended Ashraf's innings, and Hussain removed allrounder Yasir Arafat for a duck, but Sohail Tanvir was unbeaten on 38 as his team reached 441 for 7 at stumps and were very much in control of the game.

North West Frontier Province 181 for 3 (Mohmand 54, Younis 36*, Shehzad 0*) trail Punjab 354 (Butt 72, Misbah 53, Riaz 44) by 173 runs
Scorecard

After bowling out Punjab for 354, North West Frontier Province made good progress in reply, and were at 181 for 3 by the close.

Punjab, who began the day on 295 for 7, managed to reach 354 thanks to 44 from No. 10 Wahab Riaz. Fazl-e-Akbar removed the overnight batsmen - Waqas Ahmed and Junaid Zia - but Riaz hung around for 72 balls and added 39 with last man Aizaz Cheema, who scored an unbeaten 10. Fazl-e-Akbar finished with 4 for 74, while Samiullah Khan and Shakeel-ur-Rehman bagged a couple apiece.

NWFP were given a good start by Rafatullah Mohmand and Yasir Hameed. The pair added 82 before Hameed fell for 37 while Mohmand went on to make 54. Wajahatullah Wasti, the former Pakistan batsman, scored 39 off 101 balls and Younis Khan added 36 off 51 balls. Younis was undefeated at stumps, with NWFP needing 174 more to take a first-innings lead. For Punjab, Waqas Ahmed, Junaid Zia and Abdur Rehman chipped in with a wicket apiece.

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