Northern Make Spirited Reply Against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Muhammad Rizwan (176) scores ninth first-class century, Northern 109-1 at stumps on day two

Abbottabad (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Sep, 2019) Northern gave a spirited reply to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s mammoth first-innings total in their first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy first round match at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Riding on a brilliant 176 from captain Muhammad Rizwan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa declared their first innings on 526 for nine in 136.4 overs. The home side had crossed the 400-run mark inside 110 overs, which bagged them five bonus points.

Northern, in reply, were 109 for the loss of just one wicket at stumps on the second day of the four-day, first-class fixture.

Opener Haider Ali batted patiently to be 56 not out and with him at close of play was left-handed Umar Amin on 20 not out. Haider has so far hit seven fours and a six off 124 balls in 184 minutes.

Afaq Raheem (25) was caught behind off left-arm paceman Junaid Khan.

Earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa began Sunday’s proceedings at the overnight score of 343-4. Rizwan continued from where he left off on Saturday evening, completing his ninth first-class century in the first hour.

The home team captain played some attractive shots in the course of his 257-ball, 340-minute innings.

He hit 22 fours and two sixes.

Adil Amin was the first batsman out on the second day, but not before scoring his 13th half century at this level. He stayed at the wicket for 195 minutes and his 143-ball 73 included 11 boundaries. Together with Rizwan, the right-handed Adil added 156 runs for the fifth wicket stand.

There were also healthy contributions from Junaid Khan (28) and Irfan Khan (19) down the order.

Shadab Khan was the leading wicket-taker for Northern, the right-arm leg-spinner finishing with figures of 4-151 in 44 overs. Captain Imad Wasim, Sadaf Hussain, Musa Khan and Mohammad Nawaz took one wicket apiece.

By picking up nine wickets, Northern bagged three bonus points.

Scores in brief:

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 526-9 declared, 136.4 overs (Muhammad Rizwan 176, Ashfaq Ahmed 106, Adil Amin 73, Iftikhar Ahmed 35, Fakhar Zaman 33, Sahibzada Farhan 29; Shadab Khan 4-151)

Northern 109-1, 40 overs (Haider Ali 56 not out, Afaq Raheem 25, Umar Amin 20 not out)