Quaid-e-Azam Trophy - a recap of the seventh round
Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited vs. National Bank of Pakistan
The fifth match of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Division One between the two domestic giants Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited and National Bank of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, ended in a draw. NBP registered three points for the first innings lead ,keeping
them in fourth place.
The first two days of the match were action packed as twenty wickets fell in the process at Iqbal Stadium Faisalabad. Afterwards, only 17 overs were possible on the third day as rain interrupted the proceedings. Adding to this
,day four saw only two overs after the play was called off due to the heavy rains in Faisalabad.
SNGPL decided to field first after winning the toss. On a wet pitch, NBP batsmen found it difficult to survive as the opposition bowlers bowled superbly to restrict them to a modest total of 155 runs.
NBP started off poorly as they lost their first two wickets on a score of 23 runs. Nasir Jamshed and Naumanullah stabilized the innings as they pair put up 50 runs for the third wicket partnership. The duo played cautiously as
the wicket was offering a fair bit of assistance to the opposition bowlers.
Jamshed, the left-handed batsman was the top scorer of his team as he struck a 40-run innings defiantly. On the other hand, Naumanullah fell for a conservative 17-run innings after playing66 balls. The wickets kept tumbling for
NBP in the middle overs as the scorecard read 5/83.
Kamran Akmal, the captain of National Bank revived the innings to a certain extent as he made 31 runs in an aggressive manner. Apart from the skipper, there was no other score of substance as the lower order failed to make an impression
with the bat. Resultantly, their last four wickets fell in a space of just 33 runs.
The bowlers for Sui Gas were exceptional as they bowled superbly, bundling the opposition out for a low total. Asad Ali was the pick of the bowlers as he grabbed three crucial wickets in order to dent the opposition. Zulqarnain
collected three wickets in the late order with his gritty medium pace bowling in order to finish off the innings with style.
SNGPL started their innings watchfully as they racked up a decent 43-run opening partnership to give their team a solid start. In the process, Naeemuddin remained the highest scorer for his team with 48 runs, while Mohammad Hafeez
ended his innings with 23.
After a resilient opening partnership, wickets fell in quick successions as Sui Gas lost their first five wickets for a grim score of 97 runs. In addition, the contribution of the last five wickets was even worse as they only
added 38 runs. Adnan Akmal was the only one who managed a double-figure score.
Apart from the wicket keeper/batsman, all the players went back to the pavilion, adding single figure scores. In doing so, SNGPL only managed 135 runs, conceding a lead of 20 runs in their first innings.
For NBP, Mohammad Wasim was the star performer with the ball as he struck thrice in the middle overs in order to break the rhythm of the opposition. As a result, Wasim’s brilliant display with the red cherry earned him significant
figures of 3/20. Uzair-ul-Haq was the second key component for Sui Gas as he also scalped three crucial wickets.
NBP started their second innings in a positive frame of mind as they mustered a 97-run opening partnership. Jamshed again top-scored with 44 runs, while Riaz added 38 runs to the team’s total. NBP ended the innings on a score
of 112/4 to complete a draw.
Zulqarnain added two more wickets to his first innings haul of three wickets, thought couldn’t prevent the opposition from recording three points on the charts table.
Tags: