Fawad Alam double-century sinks Rams

A double-century from Fawad Alam in the first innings set up a comprehensive nine-wicket win for National Bank of Pakistan over Rawalpindi Rams at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Alam batted for close to six hours and struck 23 fours and a six, as his 201 helped National Bank make 444, earning a first-innings lead of 162. This was after Rams, having been inserted, scored 282 in their first innings. Shoaib Nasir and Naved Malik both collected fifties, but from 189 for 3, the team collapsed and lost their last seven wickets for just 93 runs.

Rams did not fare any better in their second essay. Nasir once again scored a half-century, and despite adding 121 for the second wicket with Zahid Mansoor, his team fell from 123 for 2 to 201 all out, setting National Bank a target of 40.

National Bank had little trouble chasing the paltry total, and completed the victory in 16.2 overs.

A century from Umar Amin and a 10-wicket match haul from the seamer Sohail Khan were the cornerstones behind Port Qasim Authority's 179-run victory against Multan Tigers.

Amin struck 14 fours during his 103 and Faraz Ali chipped in with 73, as Port Qasim scored 324 in their first innings. In reply, Usman Liaqat and Kashif Naved hit fifties for Tigers, but Sohail and the left-arm spinner Azam Hussain both collected four wickets to bundle the team out for 255, earning Port Qasim a crucial lead of 69.

Khurram Manzoor and Shahzaib Hasan then enforced Port Qasim's advantage by putting up an opening stand of 132, as the team made 253 to set Tigers 323 for the win. Tigers, however, failed to get going in their chase, as Sohail struck at regular intervals on his way to claiming 6 for 81 to dent the team's momentum. Mohammad Irfan, coming in at No.9, was Tiger's top scorer with 41 not out, as they were bowled out for 143 in 32.3 overs.