Misbah, Naseer put Faisalabad in strong position

KARACHI: Fast bowler Naseer Akram and skipper Misbah-ul-Haq did a fine job to put Faisalabad in a strong position on the opening day of their three-day final round Group B match of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Grade-II against Abbottabad here at National Stadium on Thursday.

Naseer got 5-30 in ten overs to enable Faisalabad to dismiss Abbottabad for only 103 in their first innings which lasted for 36.5 overs.

Middle-order batsman Riaz Kail scored 23 for which he faced 72 balls. He hit four fours. Hammad Ali Shah made 16 off 21 balls, hitting three hits to the fence.

Naseer was backed by left-arm pacer Waqas Maqsood and spinner Ahmed Safi who claimed two wickets each.

In response, Faisalabad reached 178-3 in 51 overs, for a lead of 75. They have 32 more overs and seven wickets.

Misbah, who had hit a superb century in the previous game at the same venue, continued his form, scoring unbeaten 82. He hit 13 fours in his 109-ball knock.

Pakistan’s Test captain added 55 for the third wicket with Abdul Samad, who belted 97-ball 47 with seven fours. Misbah shared 75 runs for the fourth wicket unbeaten stand with Khurram Shehzad, who was batting on 24.

Sohail Akhtar got 2-52.

Hyderabad were bowled out by Quetta for 220 in 60.1 overs in their first innings at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad.

Middle-order batsman Shoaib Leghari chipped in with 60-ball 46, which featured nine fours. Azeem Ghumman belted 35 off 56 balls, striking four hits to the fence. Nauman Ali and Mohammad Awais, while batting down the order, scored 29 each. Mir Darya Khan made 26.

Off-spinner Bakhtiyar Shah captured 4-52 in 15.1 overs.

In response, Quetta were 55-1 at stumps.

In a Group A game, at Multan Stadium, Bahawalpur were folded by Multan for only 190 in their first innings.

Imranullah Aslam struck 49 off 48 balls, hitting eight fours. Jawad Ahmed belted 47 off 100 balls, hammering six fours.

Ali Usman ripped through the batting line-up by picking 6-50 in 22 overs.

Multan, in response, were 137-2 in 25 overs. Left-handed opener Zain Abbas was batting on 70 in which he had struck 12 fours.

Waqar Hussain made 28 off 49 balls, striking three fours. Afraseem Hussain and Imranullah got one wicket each.

In another Group A clash, at Dring Stadium, Bahawalpur, the top-order guided Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to 287-8 in their first innings in the allotted 83 overs against Sialkot.

Usman Maroof (72) and Azhar Mughal (67) provided a 100-run opening stand to their team. The other batsmen capitalised on their effort.

Usman hammered 11 fours from 137 balls, while Azhar banged 12 fours in his 72-ball knock.

Ikram Hussain (50) and hard-hitting batsman Naved Malik (49) also batted well.

Ikram struck six fours from 103 deliveries, while Naved hammered two fours and one six from 128 balls. Spinners Mansoor Amjad and Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti got four wickets each.