KARACHI: Opener Imran Farhat, who was named as injured Taufiq Umar’s replacement in the Pakistan Test squad, celebrated his call up for the South Africa tour with a brilliant unbeaten 133 that guided Lahore Ravi to 254-3 against Peshawar in the Faysal Bank Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship tie in Lahore on Thursday.

The 31-year-old Ravians’ skipper followed his 127 against Karachi Blues last week by striking 21 boundaries in his 230-ball knock after Peshawar’s stand-in captain Aftab Khan elected to field first after winning the toss at the LCCA Ground in the last preliminary-round match.

Upcoming Abid Ali contributed 63 (132 balls, 11 fours) in the opening stand of 145 with Imran as the visitors struggled for wickets.

Umar Amin became the first batsman to score 1,000 first-class runs this season with another sublime display as Rawalpindi amassed 334-5 against Bahawalpur after skipper Babar Naeem decided to bat first at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.

The elegant left-handed, who has been opening the innings of late, struck 129 from 114 deliveries with the help of 18 boundaries and a brace of sixes. The 23-year-old Umar reached the coveted four-figure milestone with his score on four.

Pakistan under-19 batsman Umar Waheed played a fine hand with a 126-ball innings of 77 that was laced with nine hits to the fence.

Paceman Asad Ali captured seven wickets for 97 in 22 overs but despite his heroics Faisalabad saw Karachi Whites reach a competitive first-innings total of 297 at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.

After being sent into bat, openers Shahzaib Hasan (34) and captain Khalid Latif (83 off 63 balls, 13 fours and three sixes) provided Karachi Whites a fine start of 103. But it was Daniyal Ahsan who emerged as the top-scorer with 90 (132 balls, 17 boundaries).

Multan, currently lying sixth in Group-I, enhanced their Super Eight round aspirations by dismissing Sialkot for a modest 189 after Naved Yasin opted to bowl at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan.

The hosts’ hero was their veteran slow left-armer Zulfiqar Babar who returned superlative analysis of seven for 67 in 30 overs, while taking his 300th first-class with the scalp of Faisal Rasheed – one of five batsmen to declared leg-before-wicket to the spinner.

It was an extraordinary Sialkot innings since it contained a fine century from opener Hafiz Majid Jahangir who was last out for 105. His 214-ball innings, lasting 31 minutes, included 11 boundaries. The next best score came from the bat of skipper Mohammad Ayub Dogar (31).

Slow left-armer Azam Hussain bagged 5-48 in 28 overs as hosts Islamabad struggled to 18-8 after being put into bat by Karachi Blues skipper Khurram Manzoor. Islamabad, in fact, made a respectable comeback after being 73-7 through a 105-run partnership between captain Zohaib Ahmed (57) and wicket-keeper Naeem Anjum who is still at the crease with 56.

The remaining three Islamabad wickets fell to all-rounder Tariq Haroon.

Lahore Shalimar were in control by reaching 151-3 after bowling out Hyderabad for a paltry 103 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Discarded Pakistan seamers Aizaz Cheema (5-33 in 16 overs) and Wahab Riaz (3-22 in 9.1 overs) destroyed Hyderabad’s batting after Shalimar captain Kamran Akmal won the toss and elected to field first.

Close of play scores on Thursday (day one of four):

Group-I:

At LCCA Ground, Lahore: LAHORE RAVI 254-3 in 79 overs (Imran Farhat 133 not out, Abid Ali 63) v PESHAWAR.

At Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan: SIALKOT 189 in 75.4 overs (Hafiz Majid Jahangir 105, Mohammad Ayub Dogar 31; Zulfiqar Babar 7-67, Rizwan Haider 2-37); MULTAN 14-0 in 5 overs.

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: ISLAMABAD 188-8 in 83 overs (Zohaib Ahmed 57, Naeem Anjum 56 not out; Azam Hussain 5-48, Tariq Haroon 3-18) v KARACHI BLUES.

Group-II:

At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: HYDERABAD 103 in 43.1 overs (Sharjeel Khan 23; Aizaz Cheema 5-33, Wahab Riaz 3-22); LAHORE SHALIMAR 151-3 in 35 overs (Imran Butt 59, Umar Akmal 31 not out, Fahad-ul-Haq 26; Zahid Mahmood 2-40).

At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: RAWALPINDI 334-5 in 83 overs (Umar Amin 129, Umar Waheed 77, Babar Naeem 31, Awais Zia 26 not out, Adnan Mufti 25; Imranullah Aslam 2-32, Ansar Javed 2-64) v BAHAWALPUR.

At Mirpur Cricket Stadium, Mirpur: KARACHI WHITES 297 in 63 overs (Daniyal Ahsan 90, Khalid Latif 83, Shahzaib Hasan 34, Saad Ali 28; Asad Ali 7-97, Waqas Maqsood 2-70); FAISALABAD 13-1 in 8.2 overs.