A fourth-wicket partnership of 192 between Bazid Khan and Mohammad Wasim propelled Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) to 253 for 5 on the opening day of their first-round Group B Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) at the KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi.
From 12 for 3 KRL were resurrected by Bazid's unbeaten 120 and 92 from Wasim, the former Pakistan batsman. Bazid, in his KRL debut, batted for a little over five-and-a-quarter hours, facing 233 balls with 15 fours and two sixes. It was the 26-year-old's ninth first-class hundred.
Wasim, the KRL captain, fell eight runs short of what would have been his 18th first-class century. He faced 186 balls and hit ten boundaries. Shoaib Akhtar, currently serving a 13-match international cricket ban, was included in the KRL line-up.
A lower-order rally, after Pakistan fast bowler Shabbir Ahmed picked up three wickets, helped Lahore Ravi to 251 against Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) on the first day at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground.
Shabbir's decision to field was backed up as WAPDA restricted Lahore Ravi to 124 for 6, despite opener Kashif Siddiq's 53 from 104 balls. Shabbir grabbed 3 for 60 and offspinner Aqeel Ahmed finished with 4 for 80. Junaid Zia, the Lahore Ravi captain, hit 50 off 76 balls and Waqas Ahmed a brisk 42-ball 45 in a seventh-wicket stand of 82 to get the side to a decent total.
In reply, WAPDA closed on 33 for 1.
Fast bowler Saad Altaf and wicketkeeper Naeem Anjum combined to dismiss Abbottabad for 212 before a 77-run opening stand capped a good first day for hosts Islamabad at the Diamond Cricket Club Ground.
Altaf's career-best 6 for 73, and 20-year-old Naeem's six catches behind the stumps, restricted Abbottabad to a small total and it was only thanks to a 77-run seventh-wicket stand between Khalid Usman (50) and Iftikhar Mahmood (36) that the visitors progressed from 79 for 6.
Pace bowler Rauf Akbar and offspinner Atif Maqbool finished with 2 for 35 and 2 for 26 respectively. By the close of play, the Islamabad openers, Raheel Majeed and Umair Khan, had taken Islamabad to within 13 runs of Abbottabad's first-innings total.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) bowled out Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) for 152 and were at 46 for no loss at stumps on the first day of their Group B match at Rawalpindi.
An unbeaten 39 off 83 balls from Imran Khalid, from No. 8, was the only resistance of note as PIA's bowlers Fazl-e-Akbar, Najaf Shah and Tahir Khan shared the spoils.
An 87-run eighth-wicket partnership between captain Ali Raza and Mohammad Saeed boosted Lahore Shalimar to 230 for 8 on day one of their Group B encounter against hosts Peshawar at the Arbab Niaz Stadium.
Lahore Shalimar opted to bat first but were reduced to 138 for 7, with right-arm fast bowler Nauman Habib picking up three wickets. However, Saeed top-scored with 55 and Raza made an unbeaten 44 to ensure the visitors weren't bowled out for a low total.
An unbeaten 89 from Asif Hussain helped Faisalabad reach 205 for 4 in 83 overs on the first day of their Group A match against Multan in Sargodha.
Hussain added 71 runs for the second wicket along with opener Abdul Mannan, who scored 51. Imranullah Aslam, the leg-break bowler, was the pick of the bowlers for Multan, finishing with figures of 3 for 55 from his 22 overs.
Only 30 overs were possible on the first day of Sialkot's match against National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) at the Jinnah Stadium due to inclement weather. NBP put hosts Sialkot in and they finished the day on 106 for 5, with Bilal Hussain's 48 the highest score. Wasim Khan, the right-arm fast-medium bowler, had the best figures of 2 for 23.