KARACHI, Jan 7: Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) made satisfactory progress on a curtailed opening day of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy final against Habib Bank Limited (HBL) at the National Stadium here on Monday.

On a blustery cold day with the virtually sun absent throughout, SNGPL reached 203 for four in their first innings in 58 overs of action after HBL skipper Shahid Afridi inserted them into bat after winning the toss.

Discarded Pakistan opener Mohammad Hafeez, the SNGPL captain, lightened up what was generally a gloomy day for cricket with a watchful 69 off 137 balls.

Misbah-ul-Haq, the in-form Pakistan batsman, carried forward the good work with a resourceful contribution of 42 when bad light, which was a threat all day, prematurely ended play.

It was creditable performance given the conditions as the ball darted around. Kamran Hussain, the left-handed all-rounder, made early inroads with the new ball by sending back Yasir Arafat Junior (12) and Umar Akmal (2) in successive overs.

Hafeez then found a reliable partner in Azhar Shafiq and the two of them took the score to 98 for two at lunch. Batting solidly, they continued in the same vein after the interval before Kamran picked up his third wicket via a brilliant slip catch.

Azhar, who batted for 97 minutes and scored 29 off 68 balls with three fours, edged the ball low to second slip where Younis Khan scooped a magnificent two-handed catch.

Hafeez might have reached his fourth century in as many matches, but a lapse in concentration terminated his 196-minute stay at the crease. He slashed hard at Fahad Masood. In normal circumstances, the ball would headed to the boundary, but the Younis plucked the catch out of nowhere with a spectacular one-handed effort to his right.

It was a golden opportunity that Hafeez missed since he looked in command of the situation. He must have kicked himself for getting in that manner especially in the presence of chairman of selectors Salahuddin Ahmed and selector Saleem Jaffer.

Misbah, as cool as ever, saw out the day with Khurram Shahzad (14) keeping him company in the unbroken partnership worth 54 thus far.

Although the pitch gradually slowed down as the time ticked by, the bowling was disappointing from HBL’s point of view. The three seamers were wayward at times and overstepped the bowling crease no less than 23 times with Fahad the chief culprit with 10 no-balls.

Danish Kaneria and fellow Pakistan spinner Abdul Rehman bowled unimpressively because they seldom tried to deceive the batsmen in the air. Kaneria, however, was unfortunate to pick up the prized scalp of Misbah when one ball hit the wicket, but the bails remained firmly intact in the groove.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday decided to extend the final by an extra day to make it a six-day affair in case the rain, which is predicted for the city, interrupts play. However, in case both teams have batted one innings each by Friday, the result will be decided on the basis of first-innings lead.

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