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The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s premier domestic four-day tournament that gets underway today, has had a number of changes made to its format.The event will feature twenty two teams, split into two divisions. Twelve teams – the six best regional sides and departmental sides based on last year’s results – will constitute division one. At the end of the league phase, the lowest-placed regional and departmental sides will be relegated to division two.Seven regional sides and three departmental sides – Khan Research Laboratories, Pakistan Television and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) – make up Division Two. The best departmental side of these three will get promoted to Division One, while the one that finishes lowest will not be able to play next year’s tournament. Pakistan Television are making their debut in the event, while SBP return to the first-class circuit after 27 years.Both divisions will conclude with finals which will, however, have no bearing on promotion or relegation.Division One: Faisalabad, Habib Bank Limited, Islamabad, National Bank of Pakistan, Multan, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, Rawalpindi, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited, Sialkot, Water and Power Development Authority, Karachi Blues and Pakistan International AirlinesDivision Two: Abbottabad, Pakistan Television, Hyderabad, Quetta, Lahore Ravi, State Bank of Pakistan, Peshawar, Lahore Shalimar, Karachi Whites and Khan Research Laboratories

Scorecard
The first half-hour of the day was superb for Zimbabwe A; the last hour was disastrous. Zimbabwe’s seamers began by scything through the New Zealanders, dismissing the tourists for 208, but the advantage was squandered when the last seven Zimbabwe wickets crumbled for a mere 73 runs and the home side were bowled out for 189. New Zealand require 168 for victory on the third day of the four-day match, a task they should complete safely unless there are major shocks in store.The first thirty minutes in the morning were dramatic, as the fired-up Zimbabwean seamers shattered the back of New Zealand’s innings. The tourists were 79 for 3 overnight, but in no time were reduced to 93 for 6 thanks to fine bowling by Tinashe Panyangara and Mike Chinouya. New Zealand’s batting policy on this tour has usually been to play the first half-hour of the day with extreme care, but this time they seemed to abandon that plan and it was to their cost.The first to go was Dean Browlie (10), who faced five balls from Chinouya that moved away before the sixth went straight on and through his defences to clatter into the stumps. Captain James Franklin played two fine strokes but was then caught at the wicket off Panyangara for 7 and moments later Jamie How turned a ball from Chinouya straight to midwicket and departed for 17 to leave Zimbabwe exultant.The wicket-keeper Gareth Hopkins was still there, though, and he once again proved tough to dislodge. He and Jeeten Patel entrenched themselves at the crease, five overs passing without a run before Hopkins broke free and hammered Panyangara for 13 in an over. The pair batted almost until lunch before Panyangara returned to have Patel caught down the leg side, and Hopkins was left with just three tailenders for company.But he handled similar tasks admirably on this tour, and reached a 67-ball fifty after lunch and had made 69 before he top-edged a slash off Trevor Garwe and was caught at third man. Brett Arnel again belied his reputation as a rank No. 11 with a good unbeaten 19 and the innings closed for 208, a lead of 22. There were three wickets each for the seamers Panyangara, Chinouya and Garwe, with the purposeful and determined Chinouya perhaps the best of them.Zimbabwe, batting again in mid-afternoon, began confidently. The opening pair put on 44 before Steve Marillier, after being dropped in the gully on 16, ran himself out for 21. The innings then began to falter, Friday Kasteni quickly caught in the slips and Vusi Sibanda, having survived a skied hook that the keeper misjudged, trapped lbw by Franklin for 8. It was a disappointing end to the series for the Zimbabwe A captain, who is highly rated by the New Zealanders.Tino Mawoyo, however, looked in fine form, driving with power and placement through extra cover. He ran confidently to his fifty off 64 balls, but then grew a little careless and enjoyed a couple of narrow escapes before being trapped lbw by Patel for 62. His dismissal hastened Zimbabwe’s slide as, without any addition to the total, Malcolm Waller was lbw swiping across the line and Regis Chakabva, usually so reliable, managed to get himself brilliantly stumped without scoring. Zimbabwe A were 116 for 6 and the fight seemed to have ebbed from the innings.Garwe briefly showed some spirit, but Timycen Maruma fought back in superb style, slamming four fours and three sixes in an unbeaten 44 as the tail subsided around him. Brett Arnel and Graeme Aldridge cleaned up the latter part of the innings, which ended for 189. Thanks to Maruma, Zimbabwe A go into the final day with a glimmer of hope, even if it is a small one. For the second day in succession, there was a disgraceful over rate by the teams, with even an extra half-hour being insufficient to complete the scheduled 90 overs.

Christopher Martin-Jenkins, the former Times cricket correspondent and veteran commentator on the BBC’s Test Match Special, will begin his one-year tenure as President of Marylebone Cricket Club on Friday, October 1, as the successor to John Barclay.”I feel excited to find myself, for one privileged year, president of the great club that I joined as a playing member in 1967,” said Martin-Jenkins. “Playing the game – in both senses – is still MCC’s greatest priority and it will be fascinating, having written and talked about cricket since that same summer, to have some small input from the inside. I am grateful to my predecessor John Barclay, who has been a conscientious, ebullient and diplomatic leader, for offering me this honour.”Having previously played 67 times for MCC in matches against schools and clubs, Martin-Jenkins was elected to the MCC Committee in 2009; he also sits on the Arts & Library sub-committee. In 2007 he became the first career journalist and broadcaster to be invited to speak at the annual MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture – previous lecturers had all been former international cricketers.”The game always has issues and I shall try to help to resolve current ones, including the need to market Test matches better in some countries and to find a proper balance of fixtures that will ensure all international matches are special occasions,” he said. “Those at Lord’s surely always will be: it is the ground on which every young cricketer of any nationality hopes to play one day. Doing so in a Test match is the stuff of dreams and becoming MCC president feels a bit like that too!”Joining the new President on the MCC Committee, for a three-year period, will be Simon Dyson (for his first term), Mike Gatting (for his third term), Tim O’Gorman (for his fourth term) and David Faber (for his fourth term). All were elected by MCC’s membership. Stepping down from the Committee are Russell Cake, Dr Chinmay Gupte, Julian Vallance, Alec Stewart and Jonathan Wileman.Completing a day of change at MCC, Garri Jones will become Chairman of the newly-created Youth committee, which is responsible for encouraging participation, high standards and excellence in youth cricket. Members of the Youth Cricket committee include Clare Connor, David Graveney, Phillip Hodson and Andy Whittall.

ScorecardThe details may be uncertain, but Worcestershire will face a demanding run chase on the final day of the championship season if they are to achieve promotion. A brave first innings declaration underlined Worcestershire’s desire to pursue any fourth-innings target but, after a day in which they dropped three chances and squandered a good platform with the bat, they may reflect that their best chance of success has already gone.Sussex already lead by 138. On a pitch of variable bounce, a target of anything over 250 could prove very challenging.Whatever happens, however, both these sides can look back with satisfaction on their campaigns. Sussex, who were presented with the Division Two trophy and a cheque for £135,000 at the end of play, have looked a class above all season, while Worcestershire have bounced back admirably from a terrible 2009.It’s worth dwelling on how last year ended for Worcestershire. They finished, remember, without a single first-class victory in the season for the first time since 1928 and were then hit by the loss of five senior players (Kabir Ali, Steve Davies, Stephen Moore, Gareth Batty and Simon Jones). Director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, was also obliged to cut his cricket budget by £300,000 as the club struggled to negotiate the recession. Some feared that the wooden spoon loomed this year.Instead, however, the nucleus of a decent team has emerged. In Moeen Ali and Alexei Kervezee, Worcestershire have two of the best young batsmen in the land, while seamer Richard Jones and keeper Ben Cox have shown glimpses of form to suggest they could prosper at this level. In Alan Richardson, Rhodes recruited a hardworking and skillful seamer, while the arrival of allrounder Shakib Al Hasan has significantly strengthened them.Most pleasingly, the second team also contains several players – mostly batsmen – who should go on to enjoy decent careers in the game. Whatever happens on the final day, they can look to the future with optimism.They’ve not made life easy for themselves on the last day, however. By squandering three chances in the field, two of them quite straightforward, they have already allowed Sussex to pull further ahead than might have been the case. An unbroken third-wicket stand of 73 between the impressive Ben Brown, who pulls unusually well, and the typically pugnacious Murray Goodwin may prove to be the killer blow.Crucially, Goodwin has been reprieved twice: first, on 12, when Solanki, at slip, missed one off the deserving Richardson and then again, on 21, when Shakib missed a simple chance, off Moeen, at midwicket. Daryl Mitchell also put down a sharp chance offered by Luke Wells, off Andrew, before Sussex had scored a run.Worcestershire also squandered an opportunity to bat themselves into an impregnable position earlier in the day. At 132 for 2, they retained hopes of gaining an imposing first innings lead. A second-wicket stand of 77 between James Cameron and the elegant Vikram Solanki had earned them a good platform, while Moeen Ali also settled in nicely in a stand of 51 with Solanki.Sadly, from a Worcestershire perspective, they were unable to capitalise. Cameron, in attempting the quick single that would have brought up his well-deserved fifty, was run-out by a direct hit by Wells, before Moeen – not for the first time – left a straight one that hit his off stump. Solanki was hit on the boot by a full toss in Will Beer’s first over.Legspinner Beer, in just his fourth first-class game, claimed career-best figures of 3 for 31. Though he found little turn, he demonstrated admirable control and Luke Wright also bowled pretty well. He exploited Kervezee’s habit of reaching half-forward by claiming an early leg-before verdict, while Andrew was lured into poking at one he could have left outside off stump.Earlier, it took Worcestershire just 14 balls to polish off Sussex’s first innings. Gareth Andrew, bowling with some pace, claimed three wickets in five deliveries to finish with his best haul of the season. Hodd’s innings was ended when he left a straight one, before Lewis Hatchett and Monty Panesar steered to point.Monty didn’t enjoy the best of days. Though he took one wicket, that of Matt Mason with an awful long-hop that the batsmen charitably steered to point, Monty’s bowling was generally negated with ease. Moeen pulled him for one dismissive six, while Cameron skipped down the pitch and thumped two fours and a towering straight six.The nadir came when Monty, fielding at fine leg, scooped the ball up but, instead of throwing it back to the keeper, somehow manged to drop it over the rope. He may have rediscovered something of his magic with the ball, but his fielding remains a work in progress.

ScorecardNottinghamshire are back on top of the First Division but felt robbed nonetheless after wet weather came to Yorkshire’s aid and denied them the chance to put clear daylight between themselves and the rest as the race for the County Championship enters its decisive phase.Yorkshire were eight down and only 39 runs ahead at tea on the last day, with 34 overs still left in the day’s schedule. But heavy rain meant no further play was possible. With five matches left against Yorkshire’s four, the Trent Bridge side’s five-point advantage makes them favourites, although Somerset – only eight points behind Yorkshire – remain contenders and they might yet pose the greater threat.But Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, did not pretend the comfort of a bigger cushion would have been preferable, particularly with Somerset at home next week while his side sits out a round.Nottinghamshire do have one advantage in that three of their remaining matches are at home, where they have tended to play their best cricket. Bottom of the table Warwickshire are due at Trent Bridge on August 16.By then, Nottinghamshire will hope to have clarified the future of their England fast bowler, Ryan Sidebottom, who has yet to sign a new contract offer. The left-armer’s current deal expires at the end of this season and Sussex are believed to be in the hunt should he leave Nottingham, where he is holding out for a longer deal.Sidebottom indicated this week that he would like “to see out my career with Nottinghamshire” and Newell said that the parties hoped to reach an agreement after Twenty20 finals day.”You could see by the way Ryan bowled in this match that there is no doubt about his commitment when he wears a Nottinghamshire shirt. This will probably be the final contract of Ryan’s career and we feel we have made him a good offer, although there is sticking point over the length of the deal.”Newell said the result at Headingley left the race for the title in the balance. “It is frustrating because we had a chance to open up a 20-point lead, although everyone has at least one game a season in which they feel they were robbed. A lead of five points at this stage is neither here nor there and we need to start winning games.”Yorkshire’s plan had been to bat through the day but it was a risky strategy, given that they did not have the cushion of runs in the bank were Nottinghamshire’s bowling to prove more effective than it had been on day three.They resumed still 95 in arrears and, while eight wickets in hand gave them a degree of security, under cloud cover and with rain in the air there was always the danger that a couple of good balls early on could give fresh impetus to the visitors.Yet Yorkshire showed no inclination to hurry, mindful perhaps that the weather might come to their aid in accounting at least for a few overs. Steve Patterson, the nightwatchman, had a job to do and applied himself diligently, but Anthony McGrath lasted only five overs before playing back to a ball from Darren Pattinson that deviated late enough to catch the edge of his defensive bat and fly into the gloves of Chris Read behind the stumps. It left McGrath still 20 short of joining Adam Lyth and Jacques Rudolph in completing 1,000 first-class runs for the season.Incoming batsman Andrew Gale continued Yorkshire’s defensive plan. An hour and 35 minutes passed before there was a four scored off the bat – the one previous boundary was in leg-byes -and it was Patterson who claimed it, steering a ball from Ryan Sidebottom through the gully area.But the possibility of the plan backfiring began to gather strength just before lunch as Gale, seeking to meet a delivery from Sidebottom with a firm push, somehow hit himself on the foot with his bat and the ball ended up in the hands of the bowler. Sidebottom appealed and the umpire’s raised finger confirmed that the ball had come off Gale’s bat and the Yorkshire captain departed, limping.The morning session had produced only 53 runs in 30 overs, with just that one boundary, but the statistic of more concern was that Yorkshire, while only four down, were still 42 short of requiring Nottinghamshire to bat again, let alone have something of substance to chase.It had been a good effort by Patterson, but his vigilance was exhausted 10 minutes after lunch when Mark Wagh snapped up a bat-pad catch at silly mid-off as the nightwatchman tried to work left-arm spinner Samit Patel into the leg side, and when Jonathan Bairstow drove down the wrong line to Sidebottom, alarm bells began to ring for the home side.Six down and still 31 behind, the potential for embarrassment was now very real and it was perverse, in a way, after what had gone before, that Bairstow’s departure prefaced a stand between Adil Rashid and Gerard Brophy that, by comparison, was positively expansive.Rashid’s instincts are clearly curbed less easily. The stroke-playing leg-spinner picked up five boundaries – off Andre Adams, Patel and Paul Franks – from some meaty drives through the off side, which at least put Yorkshire in front.But when Sidebottom had Brophy caught behind after tempting the wicketkeeper to drive a ball just short of a length, and then had Shahzad caught by Adams at gully, Yorkshire were 406 for 8 and facing the prospect of trying to survive a minimum of 34 overs in the final session – probably more – with a lead of only 39.Happily for them – frustratingly for Nottinghamshire – rain was already falling as they left the field and continued long enough to make mopping up time to resume impossible.

ScorecardMurali Kartik took 5 for 50 as Kent subsided•Getty Images

Murali Kartik produced an exemplary display of left-arm spin bowling to lead a determined Somerset fightback on the second day at Taunton. Starting the day on 122 for 7, the hosts added 83 to gain an unlikely batting point, with Zander de Bruyn making 44 in a total of 205 all out. Darren Stevens finished with 4 for 38 and Amjad Khan 3 for 63.Kent looked to be progressing nicely at 76 for 1 in reply. But then Kartik got to work from the River End, sending down 14 overs unchanged for figures of 5 for 50. Alfonso Thomas returned 3 for 21 as the visitors were dismissed for 172. By the close Somerset had moved to 128 for 2 in their second innings, with Marcus Trescothick unbeaten on 59, to lead by 161.They looked strongly placed with Kartik in such good form. The 33-year-old has now taken 26 wickets for the county in four Championship games at an average of just under 13. Subtle variations in flight and pace undid Geraint Jones, who was caught and bowled for 16, to make it 76 for 2. He had hit the previous ball from Kartik for a straight six, but the wily spinner still tossed the next one up and got his man.Joe Denly (34), Alex Blake, Matthew Coles and James Tredwell were also undone by Kartik’s guile and after Kent had gone in to tea at 164 for 8, Thomas finished off the innings by forcing edges from Malinga Bandara and Khan.There were still 31 overs left in the day when Somerset began their second innings with Marcus Trescothick and Arul Suppiah looking to add to the 33-run advantage. They more than doubled it, taking the score to 45 before Suppiah was caught behind for 24 pushing forward defensively at Coles.Jos Buttler hit Tredwell for a straight six and Trescothick collected two maximums by pulling Coles over backward square as they built rapidly on the steady start. Trescothick became the first player in the match to register a half-century with the total on 115 for 1. It came off 70 balls, with 4 fours as well as the 2 sixes.Buttler played and missed several times in his 42 before being adjudged lbw pushing forward to Bandara’s topspinner. But it was still a creditable knock from the England Under-19 player, who helped Trescothick add 79.

ScorecardUAE’s bowlers shot Bermuda out for 91 to lead their side to a 167-run victory in Hamilton. Bermuda’s attack struck regular blows after winning the toss to restrict the visitors to 258, but left-arm spinner Ahmed Raza was in his element, finishing with 5 for 29 as the hosts were bowled out in 27 overs.Justin Pitcher gave Bermuda a good start, picking three early wickets to reduce UAE to 65 for 3 in the 14th over before Saqib Ali and Arshad Ali initiated a recovery. Saqib struck two fours and a six in his 52-ball 40 and added 71 in 15.3 overs with Arshad before he became the first of Joshua Gilbert’s four victims. Swapnil Patel kept the strike rotating as Arshad pushed UAE towards a competitive score with 66 off 83 balls, before Gilbert struck him in front of the stumps. Bermuda rallied in the next few overs picking four wickets for 22 as the visitors struggled for the final thrust. The hosts could however not sustain the intensity, as No. 10 batsman Raza scored an unbeaten run-a-ball 21 to lead his side to 258. Bermuda’s bowlers let themselves down by conceding 40 extras, 25 of them wides.Bermuda’s hopes of chasing the target faded early as UAE’s new-ball pair, Amjad Javed and Moiz Shahid, reduced them to 20 for 4 in no time. Raza then took centre-stage, running through the middle and lower order to finish with his first five-wicket haul in List A games. Opener Terryn Fray carried his bat through the innings and, in the company of last man Christian Burgess, raised hopes of taking the score past 100, but it was not to be.

Tillakaratne Dilshan has said the tri-series in Zimbabwe, in which he led Sri Lanka to victory as stand-in captain, helped him recover his lost form and carry it into the Asia Cup, where he sunk Bangladesh with an aggressive half-century followed by a canny spell in Dambulla.Dilshan made 71 off 51 balls, helping Sri Lanka achieve the first-ever 300-plus total in Dambulla, and set his sights on scoring 1000 runs before 2010 ends. He presently has 603. “Before the Zimbabwe tour I was out of form. I started training and watched video clips of my batting and the little things that had gone wrong with my batting, and I made the necessary adjustments,” he said after Sri Lanka’s 126-run win. “I got the start in the first match in Zimbabwe and I have carried the form to the Asia Cup.”I want to continue with this form for the next couple of months. I am close to 1000 runs in ODI cricket for the year. There are about five matches or so before the end of 2010 and I am hoping to make 1000 runs. I am enjoying my batting at the moment and trying to take some chances in the first 10 overs. If I survive I want to go for a big score. Today I had the opportunity to make a big score but unfortunately I got out in the 15th over.”Dilshan and his opening partner Upul Tharanga, who scored 54, put on 111 for the first wicket to set up Sri Lanka’s record total. “We have an understanding that whoever is hitting the ball well should get most of the strike. I enjoy batting with Upul.”According to Dilshan, the wickets in Dambulla were getting better and batsmen can enjoy batting in future matches. “It is a good wicket for both batsmen and bowlers. Bowlers who can hit the deck have a chance to get wickets and in batting, if the batsman plays strokes, he can put the bowlers under pressure. It’s an all-round wicket especially suited for batsmen.”Dilshan wasn’t done after his innings, returning to halt Bangladesh’s momentum with three quick strikes. He finished with 3 for 37 as Bangladesh were shot out for 186. “I am not surprised that I got three wickets. I knew when you play one spinner I will have to bowl a few overs,” he said. “In the last one and a half years I was keen to bowl but I hardly got a chance because of the presence of Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan.”Today there was only one spinner and I had to bowl and grabbed that opportunity and showed that I can still bowl. I think I can serve the team as an allrounder bowling offbreaks.”

Match Facts

Thursday, June 3, 2010
Start time 09.30 local, 13.30 GMT

The Big Picture

Graeme Smith has failed to convert starts in his last 11 internationals•AFP

West Indies are struggling, and their problems are not confined to performance. Their board CEO, Ernest Hilaire, delivered a scathing indictment of the state of affairs in West Indies cricket, telling fans they were in store for more “embarrassment” from their players in the years to come. Not just for the lack of quality, but an attitude that, he felt, favoured fame and wealth over excellence. Then came the incident involving Sulieman Benn, who was sent off the field by his captain Chris Gayle for disobeying instructions. All this during another disappointing series, which has helped South Africa recover from their Super Eights exit and continued West Indies’ frustrating run in front of their home crowds. Just one defeat away from a whitewash, the hosts are in dire need of a psychological boost ahead of the Tests.For South Africa, a win tomorrow will mark a continuation of the three-year dominance they’ve enjoyed over their opponents.

Form guide (most recent first)

West Indies: LLLLW
South Africa: WWWWW

Watch out for…

Graeme Smith: While several of his team-mates have cashed in on the tour, the South African captain has failed to convert starts. His scores in the four ODIs read 18, 37, 29 and 23, and thrice has he been dismissed by Dwayne Bravo. In his last 11 international innings, he has reached double-figures each time but his highest score remains 37. With three Tests to follow, he needs to get some confidence going.Chris Gayle: The captains share a similar predicament when it comes to individual form, but there has been little support from the rest for West Indies. Following his team’s failures with the bat in the first three games, Gayle had called on his batsmen to shoulder more responsibility. His own scores this series read 45, 26, 16 and 29 and with a significant burden to bear at the top in the Tests, he needs to hit form.

Team news

West Indies’ bowling lacked depth in the fourth ODI and they need Jerome Taylor, who was out of that game due to a niggle, back. David Bernard could be asked to sit out in the event of Taylor’s return.West Indies (possible): 1 Dale Richards, 2 Chris Gayle (capt), 3 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 4 Dwayne Bravo, 5 Darren Bravo, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Jerome Taylor/David Bernard, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Ravi Rampaul.South Africa didn’t need their best available line-up to beat West Indies in the previous game. But they will be eager to make a clean sweep of the series, and might be tempted to bring back Dale Steyn.South Africa (possible): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers (wk), 5 JP Duminy/Alviro Peterson, 6 David Miller, 7 Johan Botha, 8 Ryan McLaren, 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Charl Langeveldt/Dale Steyn, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Conditions

There are scattered thunderstorms forecast in Port of Spain tomorrow, increasing the possibility of a truncated fixture.

Stats and trivia

• South Africa have swept the series 5-0 twice against West Indies, in 2005 and 2008. If they win tomorrow, it will be their second 5-0 victory in an ODI series in the West Indies.
• The Queen’s Park Oval at Port of Spain will be hosting its first ODI in more than two years. Teams have opted to field in the last six games here, winning three and losing as many.
  

  Quotes

  “For us, the players that comprise the limited-overs squad, it would restore a lot of confidence in us, after we performed so poorly in the T20 World Cup.”
  “(Losing is) tough. Because in those four defeats, and if you take the two Twenty20s into consideration, five of those games we had a realistic chance of winning. Hopefully, we can put ourselves in a winning position again on Thursday.”
  Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach.

ScorecardIt went down to the last ball at the National Stadium as Hasan Raza kept his cool under pressure to guide Sind Dolphins home by three wickets in a high-scorer against Baluchistan Bears. Chasing 304, the Dolphins were boosted by a strong opening stand, then lost their way, recovered again through a fifty-run stand between Raza and Sarfraz Ahmed and then fought against the asking rate. Raza however ensured he stayed right till the end with 78 to finish the job.The match had the makings of a high-scorer when the Bears duo of Taufeeq Umer and Abid Ali added a massive 147 for Baluchistan’s second wicket. Taufeeq hit five fours in his 74 but Abid was the more aggressive of the pair, hitting 11 fours in his 94. The Dolphins hit back to take three wickets for 11 runs, with Danish Kaneria picking up two of those. The lower order then rallied around Rameez Alam, who scored a quick 52 off 35 balls to take the score past 300. Anwar Ali took three wickets but was hammered for 72 off his ten overs.The Dolphins were given a boost by their openers, Shahzaib Hasan and Khurram Manzoor, who added 110 in just under 19 overs. Much like in the first innings, a century stand was followed by a wicket burst as the Dolphins lost three wickets for five runs. Sarfraz and Raza came together in the 26th over and added 71 to put them back on track. Lal Kumar eased the pressure off Raza with a breezy 27 off 14 balls after Sarfraz departed. But Dolphins were left to play catch-up in the final stages and when the last over began, they needed more than a run a ball. Raza levelled the scores off the penultimate ball and sealed the win with a boundary.