da betsson： Habib Bank, State Bank and Pakistan International Airlines recorded victories in the third round of the President’s Cup four-day competition.
da supremo： ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-2012Habib Bank’s Ehsan Adil’s five wicket haul reduced Zarai Taraqiati Bank (ZTB) to 106 in the first dig, setting up a crushing nine-wicket victory despite rain washing out day one. Habib Bank’s pace trio of Adil, Fahad Masood and Kamran Hussain were instrumental to the win, sharing fifteen wickets between them in the match, and keeping ZTB to 168 in the second innings as well. Saeed Ajmal took six wickets for 64 for ZTB, but with no other bowler able to take more than one wicket, they conceded a 143-run first innings deficit from which they failed to recover.Adil nabbed three middle-order wickets on the second day, as ZTB lost five wickets for 33 runs, before returning to clean up the tail. Left-armer Hussain had removed both openers before Adil gutted the middle order, while Younis Khan also took two wickets. Only Yasir Hameed among the ZTB batsmen was able to breach 20, and their innings lasted less than 40 overs.In reply, openers Imran Farhat and Ahmed Shehzad made fifties before both fell to Ajmal. Younis Khan also contributed a circumspect 48, as Habib Bank progressed to 249 all out on the third day.ZTB lasted only slightly longer with the bat in their second innings, making 168 in 44.5 overs. Masood took 4 wickets for 37 for Habib Bank, dismissing three of the top four batsmen, while left-arm spinner Mohammad Aslam took 3 for 35. Babar Azam was unbeaten on 45, having not found support in the lower middle order, and Habib Bank were set 26 for victory – which they achieved on the fourth morning.State Bank Limited (SBL) also picked up their second win in the tournament when they defeated United Bank (UBL) by four wickets in Karachi. They are one place below Pakistan Internationl Airlines, though, they have the same number of points, but UBL remain on three points after gaining none in this game.Adnan Raees helped SBL’s chances when he struck his eleventh first-class century after being picked for the first time in the tournament. The left-hander hit fifteen boundaries, and stuck around for more than five hours, scoring 115 runs. But more importantly, his lengthy knock and SBL skipper Kashif Siddiq’s 80 put their side 117 runs ahead, after offspinner Adnan Rasool’s five-for in UBL’s first innings.Abid Ali staged a fight back for UBL but his 94 was not enough as none of the other batsmen left an impression in the second innings. Rasool took three in the second innings and left-arm spinner Hasan Mahmood picked up four wickets as UBL were bowled out for 218 runs.It left enough time for SBL knock off the 102 runs in the second innings to win the game with time to spare.National Bank of Pakistan secured a 148-run first innings lead having sent Sui Northern Gas Pipelines into bat, but could not force a result after rain had made only 33.4 overs of play possible on the first day. Uzair-ul-Haq took six wickets for 58 in the first innings, as the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines batsmen failed to build any partnerships of note, and did not make a half-century between them. Uzair tore through the middle order to dismiss the opposition for 195, setting up National Bank of Pakistan’s lead. Mohammad Imran was also among the wickets with 3 for 61.National Bank of Pakistan’s top order all contributed in their reply, with the top five making 277 between them. Fawad Alam top scored, making a brisk 93 off 114 balls before being run out, while Sami Aslam also hit a half-century. Yasir Shah and Imran Ali took three wickets apiece.Imran then ripped through the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines batsmen, bagging 6 wickets for 68. A 70-run partnership for the seventh wicket halted the collapse long enough to save the match, as Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan and Yasir Shah all contributed 40s. At stumps on day four, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines led by 110 with one wicket remaining in their second innings.Pakistan International Airlines’ pace pairing of Najaf Shah and Aizaz Cheema shared 18 wickets in their side’s 113-run win over Port Qasim Authority (PQA) in the President’s Trophy in Karachi. Shah ended up with his second 10-wicket haul in first-class cricket while Cheema took four each in the two innings.The pair rounded up the PQA’s second innings for 114 runs with the left-arm seamer Shah taking five wickets for 44 runs, adding to his five for 63 in the first innings when he helped bowl them out for 278 runs. Their performance with the ball overshadowed that of Mohammad Sami, who took seven wickets in PIA’s first innings.Sami however found little support from the rest of the attack as PIA batted out a day and a half to compile 334 runs. The middle to lower-order rebuilt the innings after they fell to 108 for five. Shoaib Khan, Sarfraz Ahmed and Tahir Khan struck half-centuries and by the time they were finished, PIA had posted a competitive total. Port Qasim conceded a 56-run deficit when they were stymied by the nine wickets shared by Shah and Cheema.The game continued to be a bowler’s game in PIA’s second innings when Abdur Rauf and Tanvir Ahmed took four wickets each. PIA were bowled out for 171, setting Port Qasim a target of 228.It became PIA’s second win in three games, plumping them up to second on the points table with 18 points. Port Qasim are still winless.A washout on day one, and a delay on day two prevented a result in Khan Research Laboratories’ clash against Water and Power Development Authority in Faisalabad. A 113-run eighth wicket partnership between Naved Yasin and Nayyer Abbas propelled Khan Research Laboratories to 331 for 9 declared in the first innings, and though Water and Power Development Authority were dismissed for 162 in reply, the match did not progress beyond the first innings.Saeed Anwar Jnr provided the early impetus for Khan Reasearch Laboratories with 65, before Yasin’s 89 and Abbas’ 69 transformed what was going to be a decent total to a superb one. Both Yasin and Abbas were measured during their stand, each scoring at a strike rate of less than 50, though they shared 22 fours between them. They were both dismissed by left-arm spinner Zulfiqur Babar, who finished with six wickets for 108.In response, only Sohaib Maqsood crossed 50 for Water and Power Development Authority, making 74, as Khan Research Laboratories’ pacemen shared seven wickets between them. Khan Research Laboratories secured a 169-run first innings lead, but with only nine overs left in the match after the opposition’s first innings had been completed, the match was deemed a draw.
