Wicket-keeper batsman Muhammad Salman starred for Faisalabad with a ton against Sui Gas in a 6th round match of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2010-11 played between 28 November and 1 December.
The match ended in a draw although Faisalabad came close to upset Sui Gas on the last day.
Sui Gas, the former champion of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is currently at number 6 in the points table with only 18 points in the 6 games so far. Their progress has been disturbed with a lot of their main players serving duty in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 team.
On the other hand, Faisalabad is also weakened because almost all of its experienced players are playing from different departments and ironically most of them are representing Sui Gas in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. This might be a blessing in disguise for
the younger players of Faisalabad as they are getting the opportunity to play for their region in the absence of the senior players.
Seasoned campaigner and the captain of Sui Gas in the absence of Misbah ul Haq, Azhar Shafiq won the toss and decided to field first at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad. The home team was bowled out for 220 runs in the 1st innings on day 1. At one
stage, Faisalabad was in trouble at 93 for 4 when Test cricketer, Ijaz Ahmed junior came to rescue the home team’s situation. Because of Ijaz’s efforts, Faisalabad was able to reach 220. He made 67 batting at number 6 and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Asif-Hussain-c46474 was the other main scorer
for Faisalabad with 36.
Left-arm spinner, Imran Khalid took 4 wickets for Sui Gas, whereas, Asad Ali impressed yet again with 3 scalps.
In reply, Sui Gas made 261 runs in its 1st innings and as a result took a lead of 41 runs over Faisalabad. Captain, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Azhar-Shafiq-c1117 played a responsible knock and took his team out of trouble along with Umar Akmal. Shafiq made 90 runs off 195 balls
with 11 fours and Umar Akmal made 67 off 131 balls. He struck 8 fours and a six in his innings. Khurram Shahzad remained unbeaten on 60 batting at number 5 but unfortunately for him, he did not get any support from the other end. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ahmed-Hayat-c42319 took a 5 wicket
haul for Faisalabad.
Because of a fantastic hundred by the wicketkeeper-batsman Muhammad Salman, Faisalabad was able to score 286 runs in its 2nd innings. Faisalabad was facing defeat at one stage as they had lost the 5 top order batsmen for only 32 runs but http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Salman-c88163
showed the strength of his character by playing a match-saving innings for his team. He scored 126 runs with 15 fours and 2 sixes. Test cricketer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Naved-Latif-c78900 had a muscle strain and he came to bat at number 10 but that did not stop him from contributing 44
crucial runs.
Fast bowlers Asad Ali and Imran Ali took 4 wickets each for Sui Gas as Adil Raza and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Imran-c64193 Khalin picked up a wicket each.
In the last innings of the match, Sui Gas needed to play out 47 overs, which they did but not without a scare as they were 7 down when the play was called off without a result. Umar Akmal was the top-scorer with 48 off only 29 balls with 8 fours and a six.
Left-arm spinner, Hassan Mahmood took 5 wickets on the last day but could not win the match for his team. Overall it was a well-contested match between both the teams and one should give credit to Faisalabad as they gave a tough time to their stronger opponent.
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