WAPDA thrash SNGPL in tenth round of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy
Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) trounced Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) by 157 runs in a one sided contest to move up to second place in the domestic charts.
Sarfraz Ahmed’s eight-wicket haul sealed victory for WAPDA. His brilliant bowling performance in each of the two innings allowed his team to secure the win in an emphatic manner. On the other hand, Naeemuddin’s valiant 80-run innings didn’t prove to be enough
to save the game for his side.
SNGPL won the toss and elected to field first on a bowling friendly wicket at Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground . The wicket was offering a fair bit of assistance to the new-ball bowlers and they took complete advantage of the conditions. WAPDA
was bowled out for a modest 227-run total. Shoaib Maqsood was the star performer with the bat and he played brilliantly for his 69-run innings, scoring runs at lively strike rate of 70. The other score of substance came from the bat of Ali Azmat, who added
38 runs in order to give the total some respectability.
For Sui Gas, Asad Ali was the pick of the bowlers as he bowled superbly for his figures of four for 69 in an incisive 22 over spell. Yasir Shah played the supporting role, and his gritty medium pace bowling earned him decent figures of four for 59.
However, Sui Gas’ batsmen failed to make an impression with the willow. Their top five batsmen fell without getting into the double figures, and the scorecard read 35 runs for the loss of five wickets. Meanwhile, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Raza-Ali-Dar-c84403 and Ali Raza assembled a resilient
78-run partnership for the seventh wicket in order to push the total to 119 runs. Raza remained unbeaten for his 54-run innings, as he anchored his team to total of 141 runs.
WAPDA bowled superbly while defending their modest first innings total. The new-ball pairing of Sarfraz and Kashif wreaked havoc for the batsmen, picking up nine wickets to devastate the opposition. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sarfraz-c88817 took four wickets, while Kashif registered a five-wicket
haul.
In the second innings, WAPDA put up a better show and they piled up 257 runs. All the top order players made solid starts, though no one managed to capitalise on the opportunity. Nawaz Sardar top scored for his team with a resolute 69-run display. Aamer
Sajjad led from the front as he recorded a resilient fifty to push his team’s lead to 343 runs.
Asad Ali was the major wicket-taker for SNGPL. Ali bowled brilliantly and his persistent line and length earned him healthy dividends. He accounted for seven opposition dismissals, while conceding 104 runs in an accurate spell of medium pace bowling.
A massive target of 344 runs was always going to be a difficult task, especially on a wicket that was helping the seam bowlers. SNGPL lost their first wicket without having a run on the scoreboard. Naeemuddin and Jahanzeb then put together a defiant 83-run
partnership in order to bring some stability to the total. Naeemuddin top scored with 80 runs in the chase, while Jahanzeb’s 35 runs remained the second highest score. Apart from these two, there was no solid contribution with the bat and resultantly, SNGPL
capitulated for just 186 runs.
Once again Sarfraz was the destroyer-in-chief, as he brought about the downfall of four top order batsmen. The win meant WAPDA moved to within three points of the top of the table.
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