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 Sind 149 (Naumanullah 47, Shakeel-ur-Rehman 6-28) and 309 for 5 (Manzoor 118, Latif 72, Alam 51* ) beat North West Frontier Province 203 (Shakeel-ur-Rehman 45, Sohail 4-65) and 254 (Younis 111, Kaneria 5-62, Ali 3-66) by five wickets
Khurram Manzoor's century and an unbeaten 51 from Fawad Alam steered Sind to a five-wicket win over North West Frontier Province in Karachi. It was a remarkable comeback win for the side led by Shahid Afridi; NWFP led by 200 runs with seven second-innings wickets in hand going into the third day, before a collapse and a disciplined batting display from Sind saw them end up on the losing side.
The foundation of Sind's pursuit of 309 was laid by their openers Manzoor and Khalid Latif before stumps on day three. The two added an unbroken 130 runs, and took it to 161 before Latif was out leg-before to Mohammad Aslam. Manzoor and Naumanullah added another 62 runs, but Samiullah Khan dismissed them both in quick succession and Shakeel-ur-Rehman got rid of Faisal Iqbal as three wickets fell for the addition of three runs. Manzoor, the Man of the Match, scored a patient 118, with 18 fours and one six.
However, any hopes NWFP harboured quickly dissipated thanks to a blistering 31-ball 51 from Fawad Alam. Shahid Afridi made a brisk 29, but it was Alam who remained till the end as Sind sealed the win.
Federal Areas 383 (Majeed 107, Saeed 69, Ashraf 58) and 385 for 6 (Bazid 172, Saeed 65, Arafat 56*) drew with Punjab 599 for 7 dec (Butt 290, Jamshed 108, Yousuf 56, Azam 3-133)
Salman Butt's 290 set up the possibility of a win for Punjab, but a 172 from Bazid Khan led the battle as Federal Areas forced a draw.
Tottering at 37 for 3 at stumps on the third day, Bazid combined with Usman Saeed and ensured there were no early inroads made by the Punjab bowlers. They added 151 runs, before Mohammad Hafeez bowled Saeed for 65. It was Saeed's second fifty for the game. Naved Ashraf made a useful 39 and together with Bazid put Federal Areas in the lead.
Legspinner Mansoor Amjad struck with the wickets of Ashraf and Bazid, whose 172 included 22 fours and a six. However, healthy partnerships ensured Punjab's chances of victory were dwindled. Yasir Arafat and Sohail Tanvir stuck around till stumps as the match ended in a draw. Arafat made an unbeaten 56, while Tanvir made 21.
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