Pacers give Karachi Whites edge over Pindi

KARACHI: Fast bowlers gave Karachi Whites an early advantage when they dismissed Rawalpindi for 172 on a lively track on the first day of their four-day fifth round Group B match of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy at the Pindi Stadium on Monday.
After being asked to bat first by Karachi Whites’ skipper Faisal Iqbal, Rawalpindi struggled a lot.
After the top order was blown away very early, left-handed middle order batsman Aqib Shah brought some stability to the innings, scoring precious 54 off 105 balls with seven hits to the fence. He added 46 for the sixth wicket with skipper Yasir Arafat, who scored 19 with three fours.
Adnan Mehmood (17) and Babar Naeem (16) were the other main scorers.
Medium-pacer Adeel Malik got 4-54. Babar Rehman (3-43) and Ghulam Mudassir (3-61) also bowled well.
Karachi Whites, in reply, were 58-1 at stumps. Arsalan Bashir (18) fell after he had hit three fours from 36 balls.
Haris Ali Khan (21*) and Jaahid Ali (16*) were at the crease.
“It is now a testing period for our batsmen. Let’s see how they respond,” Karachi Whites’ coach Tauseef Ahmed told ‘The News’.
“A lot of seam was seen throughout the day. It is not an easy track to bat on,” the former Test spinner said.
“Our skipper Faisal Iqbal will have to score runs if we are to control the situation,” the coach said.
At National Ground in Islamabad, Imran Farhat led from the front with a sparkling 95 to enable Habib Bank Limited (HBL) to reach 233-5 in 72 overs after they were asked to bat by Khan Research Laboratories (KRL).
Farhat, who played his last Test for Pakistan against South Africa at Centurion in 2013, struck 13 fours from 173 balls. Aftab Khan was batting on 65. Pacer Mohammad Abbas captured 4-66.
At Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot, skipper Aamer Sajjad (100) slammed his second century of the season to guide WAPDA to 310-8 in their first innings against Group B leaders National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).
Sajjad smashed 12 fours and a six from 155 deliveries. At one stage, WAPDA were struggling at 114-5 but Sajjad added 157 for the sixth wicket with stumper Bismillah Khan (84) to consolidate the innings. Bismillah hammered 13 fours from 110 deliveries.
Fast bowler Ataullah, who replaced Ahmed Jamal, claimed 3-60. Left-arm pacer Zia-ul-Haq (2-78) and Akbar-ur-Rehman (2-5) also bowled well.
At Marghzar Cricket Ground in Islamabad, openers Shan Masood (97) and Sharjeel Khan (72) scored 149 to help United Bank Limited (UBL) post 365-4 in their first innings against Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC).
SSGC badly missed their pacers Mohammad Amir and Sohail Khan, who are playing in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
Left-handed Test opener Shan banged 15 fours and three sixes in his 103-ball knock. Sharjeel smacked 14 fours in his 78-ball fifty.
Saeed Bin Nasir struck 53 with eight fours. Skipper Younis Khan, playing his first game in the season, was trapped lbw by left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar for 72-ball 42.
The former Pakistan captain struck seven fours. Umair Khan was batting on 67 in which he had hit ten fours.
At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, 15 wickets fell in the match between Port Qasim Authority (PQA) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) on the first day.
After dismissing PQA for 119 in their first innings, SNGPL were reeling at 95-5 in response at stumps.
Skipper Azhar Ali, playing his first game in the season, was batting on 32. Left-arm pacer Zohaib Shera captured 4-32.
After being asked to bat, PQA were bowled out in only 43.3 overs.
Shahzaib Hasan (30) and Mohammad Talha (23) were the leading scorers.
Azizullah (3-26), Bilawal Bhatti (3-23) and Ahmed Safi Abdullah (3-21) bowled exceptionally well.
Saad Nasim (67) and Tayyab Tahir (41) enabled Lahore Blues to reach 231-7 in their first innings against Peshawar at LCCA Ground Lahore.
Agha Salman was batting on 35.
Umair Khan got 3-46. Zohaib Khan and Taj Wali claimed two wickets each.
Hyderabad were 262-8 in their first innings against Islamabad at Diamond Club Ground in the federal capital.
Shoaib Leghari (48) and Haris Khan (45) were the distinguished scorers.
Shehzad Azam Rana, Junaid Nadir, Zohaib Ahmed and Hasan Ali got two wickets each.
Fawad Khan struck 108 with 11 fours and five sixes to guide FATA to 314 in their first innings against Lahore Whites at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
Rehan Afridi belted 52 with eight fours. Mohammad Irfan made 40 with seven fours.
Left-arm pacer Saif-ur-Rehman got 5-76. Lahore Whites were reeling at 20-2, in response, at close.