Akhlaq hits unbeaten double ton, Ali registers best bowling figures
Source: The Nation
KARACHI - The second day of the sixth round of President's Trophy 2023-24 saw some brilliant performances as WAPDA's Muhammad Akhlaq struck a brilliant unbeaten double ton against Ghani Glass while his teammate Ali Shafique wreaked havoc with a seven-fer.
SBP found themselves in the front seat as against HEC after Faisal Akram registered his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. The game between PTV and KRL will enter an interesting day three due to a fighting effort from both teams on the second day.
Ghani Glass had a horrid start to their day as they were bundled out for a paltry 60 in 25.5 overs, with a massive 152- run first-innings deficit. Opening batters Sharjeel Khan and Kashif Ali were dismissed after scoring four runs each. Tayyab Tahir bagged a 5-ball duck while Mohsin Riaz (18), Ghani Glass' top-scorer, didn't last long as well. Skipper Saad Nasim returned to the dugout for a mere 17-ball 10 run innings.
In-form Ali Shafique of WAPDA registered the best bowling figures of the tournament so far, bagging a stunning seven-wicket haul for just 14 runs in 10.5 overs. He was aided by Ahmed Khan and Naqeebullah Masood who returned for two and one wicket respectively.
WAPDA were in relentless in their reply with the bat as Muhammad Akhlaq (202*, 199b, 18x4s, 10x6s) struck his maiden first-class double hundred, while also registering the first double ton of the tournament, decimating the Ghani Glass bowling attack. Hassan Abid Kiyani (63, 57b, 6x4s, 4x6s) chipped in with a half-century to extend his team's lead. Ayaz Tasawar (43) and M Basit (35*) also contributed valuable runs to set a target of 519 runs for Ghani Glass.
Niaz Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Rameez Jnr and Saeed Ali picked up one wicket each. Ghani Glass scored seven runs and lost one wicket in the three overs they faced, before stumps were drawn. Kashif Ali and Rameez Jnr (4*) will be on the crease at the start of day three for Ghani Glass.
Meanwhile, in the game between SBP and HEC at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi, SBP secured a substantial 212- run lead. Umar Amin's remarkable century (158) and Rameez Aziz's valuable half-century (75) contributed to SBP's score of 307-5. HEC, in their innings, cautiously started but ended the day with a lead of 12 runs with seven wickets in hand.
At the UBL Sports Complex, PTV took a 162-run lead against KRL, finishing Day Two at 73-1 in their second innings. Faisal Akram's maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket played a pivotal role as KRL scored 271 in reply to PTV's 360-8. Shayan Sheikh's brisk 46 not out was a highlight, but Faisal Akram's spin proved challenging for the KRL batsmen.