Yousuf Youhana and Abdur Razzaq shared a third wicket partnership of 137 runs to lead Pakistan Probables to three-wicket win over Karachi Young at the National Stadium, after being reduced to 7 for two in only the second over of the innings,in their search for 202.

Abdur Razzaq Photo CricInfo

The batting skills displayed by both these stalwarts was full of precision and maturity as they weathered the opening hostile spell from Mohammad Sami and Saad Altaf with exquisite concentration. Once settling in, they led an all out offensive on the Karachi bowlers as the home side, led by Rashid Latif, found it hard to contain the free flow of runs.

Youhana emulated his performance at Lahore, where he scored 96 against Lahore Tigers, to become the highest scorer of the match. He made a fine 75 off 124 balls, which contained 8 hits to the fence. His partner was equally proficient in his batting skills as, after given a chance in the first slip by Arshad, he commanded his authority over the bowlers by getting 56 with the help of 8 fours and one six.

After the fall of Youhana's wicket at 160 in the 38th over, the going was quite easy for the middle order batsmen of Probables. However, they made a mess of things, losing seven wickets in all until they reached the target in the 46th over.

Earlier, Rashid Latif, the captain of the Karachi Young, had won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch, which had no grass on it.

After losing the wicket of Naumanullah cheaply, Shadab Kabir, the left-handed opener of Karachi shared a partnership of 91 for the second wicket along with Faisal Iqbal to set a solid foundation for their team. However, this opportunity was not efficiently grabbed by the middle order batsmen of Karachi. They failed miserably to score quick runs in the later stages of their innings, as they ended up on 201 for 8 in the allotted fifty overs.

The spin duo of Mushtaq Ahmed and Shoaib Malik, bowled superbly for the Probables, as they tested the batsmen with teasing line and length. They did not only break the threatening partnership between Shadab and Faisal, but also gave little liberty to the late order to score quick runs off them.

Mushtaq and Shoaib took two wickets each for 47 and 31, respectively, in their ten overs, whereas the skipper, Wasim Akram bagged one wicket for 27 runs in nine overs.

Yousuf Youhana, after yet another valiant show with the bat, was awarded man of the match, whereas Yasir Arafat was declared the best fielder.

The fourth match of the series will be played on the 31st of January at the Shahi Bagh Stadium, Peshawar.

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