Naseem Shah continues stellar rise with six-wicket haul

Naseem Shah’s stellar rise continues as the 16-year-old pacer claimed six wickets for Central Punjab against Sindh in their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy clash at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium.

Naseem’s 6-78 helped Central Punjab claim a commanding 249-run lead in their second innings as they look the only team likely to get a win in the fifth round.

Sindh were dismissed for 256 in response to Central Punjab’s 313 and the hosts have since hammered home their advantage by adding 192-2 in the second innings. Former Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and current skipper Azhar Ali were both batting on 90 at stumps.

Meanwhile, the match between Southern Punjab and Northern heads towards a draw after Southern Punjab finished day three on 403-8 in response to Northern’s mammoth 550-6 in the first innings.

Former Pakistan internationals Sohaib Maqsood and Sami Aslam both scored centuries as they ensured that the side avoided follow-on by scoring more than 400.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also narrowly avoided follow-on in their clash against hosts Balochistan at Quetta’s Bugti Stadium.

The visitors were dismissed for 406, avoiding follow-on by just three runs after Balochistan had scored 553-8. The match is also almost certain to end in a draw despite Balochistan extending their lead to 177 after being 30-1 at the close of play on day three.

The hosts might look to get some quick runs in the morning session before trying to dismiss KPK quickly but that looks unlikely after just 19 wickets have fallen across three days in the clash so far.