Group A
Karachi Whites were bowled out for a modest 218 runs in their first innings on the opening day of their second-round, four-day Group A Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match by Lahore Ravi, at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium on Friday.
Karachi Whites captain Mohammad Sami, the fast bowler currently out of favour with the national selectors, won the toss and opted to bat first on a pitch that played erratically throughout the day. Still, an interesting tussle between bat and ball ensued as the proceedings continued.
Karachi Whites, with three points from their drawn match in the first round against Hyderabad, prospered through some good batting by their two centurions in Hyderabad. The experienced Afsar Nawaz top-scored with 52 runs off 131 balls with five fours. Asad Shafiq, the opener, contributed 45 off 81 balls while hitting seven boundaries. Sami himself scored a useful 31 in a 54-run sixth-wicket stand with Afsar.
Lahore Ravi captain Junaid Zia captured three wickets for 52 runs. Offspinner Kashif Shafi also chipped in with 3 for 32 while the legspinner Haafiz Saad Nasim took 2 for 38. Lahore Ravi, who were comfortably beaten by WAPDA by a nine-wicket margin on Tuesday, negotiated one over before the draw of stumps in which no runs were made.
Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan leg-spinner, captured four wickets for 64 runs as Hyderabad slumped to 193 for nine in their first innings, on the opening day of a second-round, four-day match against Habib Bank Limited, at the Niaz stadium in Hyderabad on Friday.
Playing an admirable foil was the left-arm spinner Aslam Qureshi who bagged three wickets for 29 runs in 22 overs. For Hyderabad, opener Akram Khan top scored with 97 runs while batting for five hours and facing 262 balls with eight fours.
At the Sheikhupura stadium , Multan demolished the 2005-06 champions and last season's runners-up Sialkot for a measly 100 runs. Six batsmen failed to open their account.
The left-arm pace bowler Mohammad Kashif starred with a four-wicket haul and Multan drove home the advantage with an unbroken 116-run opening stand between brothers Hammad and Usman Tariq.
At the Iqbal stadium , in Faisalabad, the home team were 243 for 9 by the day's close against National Bank of Pakistan. After five wickets had fallen for only 62 runs, Usman Arshad (62) and Mohammad Salman (61) put on 110 to propel Faisalabad to a respectable score.
Powered by a patient 83 from Ali Hussain, Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) reached 239 for 7 wickets in their first innings on the first day against Pakistan Customs at the NBP Sports Complex , ground on Friday.
Raees Amjad, the seamer, ripped the top order with a four-wicket haul but Hussain held the innings together, staying at the crease for 305 minutes with four hits to the boundary. Opener Asif Zakir (41) and Ashraf Ali (49) were the other contributors. Ahmed Zeeshan was unbeaten on 24 when Adnan Malik fell for a duck on the last ball of the day.
Group B
Karachi Blues prospered through some splendid batting as they took their first innings score to 308 for four in 83 overs by the close of the opening day against Quetta at the Bugti Stadium on Friday.
The highlight of the day was a hundred by Shadab Kabir, the former Pakistan Test batsman. Kabir, 29, posted his 10th first-class century, making 136 runs off 206 balls in just short of four and three-quarter hours with 22 fours and two sixes.
He stitched together a 146-run opening partnership with Pakistan Under-19s star Ali Asad, who made 66 off only 105 balls with 11 fours, after the Karachi team had been put in to bat. Kabir then added 119 runs with Faraz Patel, who made 48 after being the Blues' top scorer in either innings in their first-round match against Rawalpindi, for the second wicket.
Amid the carnage, Quetta's experienced offspinner Naseer Khan stood out as he captured all four wickets to fall, at a personal cost of 89 runs in 26 overs.
Karachi Blues had been thrashed by a 152-run margin by Rawalpindi in their previous match played in Karachi. Quetta were not seen in the first-round action.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) suffered a setback at the hands of Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) on the opening day at the KRL stadium in Rawalpindi on Friday, as they dismissed for a modest score of 211 in their first innings.
Kamran Sajid was left holding the fort as he carried his bat through the completed innings, while scoring an unbeaten 64 off 201 balls in just short of five and a half hours with nine fours.
Right-arm seamer Bilal Asad captured four wickets for 37 runs in 14 overs for KRL.
Lahore Shalimar were bowled out for 249 runs against Islamabad at the Diamond Cricket Club ground in Islamabad. Suleman Khan top scored with 88 off 159 balls with 11 fours.
The extras amounted to an exact 50 that included 20 no balls and 11 wides. The left-arm seamer Saad Altaf took 4 for 81 but gave away 10 no balls and seven wides. The debutant fast-medium bowler Shahzad Azam, who was roped in after Azhar Mahmood opted out, took a wicket with his first ball in first-class cricket. Azam induced Ali Raza, Lahore Shalimar's captain, to nick behind.
By the close of play, Islamabad were in a bit of trouble as they had lost four wickets for 34 runs in 11 overs. The seamer Asif Raza took 3 for 13 in five overs.
Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) did well to reach 287 for 7 on the first day of their match against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) at the Arbab Niaz stadium in Peshawar.
SNGPL were struggling at 63 for 4 when Azhar Shafiq (95) and Khurram Shahzad (75) added 164 runs to lift them out of trouble. Zohaib Khan prised out three wickets while Junaid Nadir chipped in with 2 for 45.