KARACHI: Saad Ali hit a solid unbeaten 72 to enable Karachi Whites reach 209-4 in their first innings against Lahore Whites on the opening day of their sixth round four-day Group B outing of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Monday. The left-handed Saad hammered 12 fours in his unfinished 156 balls knock to give hope to the visitors to post a decent score. He shared a valuable 63 for the fifth wicket unbroken stand with promising Saud Shakeel who was batting on 38 which featured five fours. Yasir Mushtaq fell for 76-ball 36 which contained seven boundaries. Asif Raza got 2-64. Saif-ur-Rehman and Asfand Mehran claimed one wicket each. Meanwhile, Test pacer Rahat Ali picked 6-40 to help Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) dismiss WAPDA for 187 in their first innings at the National Ground in Islamabad. Stumper Bismillah Khan hit 32 with five fours, while Ayaz Tasawar (31) banged three fours. Mohammad Irfan (22*) and Zulfiqar Babar (22) were the other leading contributors. In response, KRL were 12 without loss at stumps. Hasan Ali (4-48) and Shehzad Azam (3-47) helped Islamabad dismiss Lahore Blues for 188 in their first innings in 65.4 overs at the Diamond Club Ground in the federal capital. Mohammad Ikhlaq struck a fine 67 off 118 balls with nine fours and a six. Tayyab Tahir scored 39 off 76 balls with seven fours. Islamabad, in response, were eight without loss at stumps. In other Group B clash at the Pindi Stadium in Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi were in strong position as after scoring 163, they had reduced Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to 34-6. Haroon Sadaqat was batting on 22 which featured three fours. Five of FATA’s batsmen fell without scoring. International Yasir Arafat and Saad Altaf picked three wickets each. After opting to bat first on a lively track, Rawalpindi struggled all the way before posting a respectable total. Aqil Shah remained not out on 46 off 92 deliveries, he smashed six fours. Naved Malik (25) and Mansoor Amjad (20) were the other main scorers. Fast bowler Irfanullah Shah claimed 4-44. Razaullah and Asif Afridi clinched two wickets each. In Group A outing at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, fast bowler Azizullah continued to impress as he took 4-31 in 15 overs to enable Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) dismiss Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) for a paltry 124 in their first innings. Azizullah was ably backed by Umaid Asif (3-28) and Ahmed Safi (2-36). Skipper Umar Amin top-scored with 64 not out which carried six exquisite boundaries. Awais Zia (23) and opener Usman Sadiq (11) were the only other batters to enter double figures. SNGPL were 15 without loss in response at close. In Group A clash at the Marghzar Ground in Islamabad, Umar Siddiq hit unbeaten 104 with 11 fours to enable United Bank Limited (UBL) reach 277-6 in their first innings against Port Qasim Authority (PQA). Umar added 105 for the third wicket with skipper Younis Khan who fell for 52 which came off 80 balls and had nine fours. Umar then put on 101 for the fifth wicket with Wajihuddin who belted 72-ball 65 with 12 fours. Yasim Murtaza was at the crease with Umar on 27 in which he had smacked four fours. Left-arm pacer Zohaib Shera got 4-64, while his fellow pacer Waqar Ahmed captured 2-73. At Peshawar’s Arbab Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad bowled out Peshawar for 223 in their first innings. Mehran Ibrahim struck a fine 79 off 142 balls with 11 fours. Zohaib Khan (37) and Akbar Badshah (26) were the other distinguished scorers. Off-spinner Nasir Awais emerged as the hero for Hyderabad who took 5-44 in 26.1 overs. Fast bowler Sajjad Hussain claimed 3-57. Hyderabad were 13 without loss in reply at stumps. At Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) were 265-5 in their first innings against Habib Bank Limited (HBL). Umar Waheed was at the crease on 77 and Fahim Ashraf on 39 as the duo shared 81 for the sixth wicket unbroken partnership. Waheed cracked eight fours from 188 deliveries, while Fahim clobbered six fours from 55 deliveries. Fawad Alam and Akbar-ur-Rehman made 38 each with Fawad hitting six fours and Akbar smashing five fours and two sixes.
