KARACHI, Oct 23: Abbottabad made good recovery after a precarious start to reach 259-8 against Karachi Blues on the opening day of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship season at the National Stadium here on Wednesday.

After being sent into by Blues skipper Naved Khan, Abbottabad lost three quick wickets for 22 runs before Mohammad Naeem (75 off 117 balls, 11 boundaries) and Khalilullah Khan (53) added 101 for the fifth wicket.

Wicket-keeper Rehan Afridi continued the fightback by stroking 58 in the unfinished partnership of 63 with Umair Khan (22).

The Blues — who won the coveted title last year when the outfit had the services of Test opener Khurram Manzoor, paceman Anwar Ali and all-rounder Akbar- ur-Rehman — struggled to make much impact to the utter frustration of their head coach Azam Khan.

Azam, who played a solitary Test against Zimbabwe in 1996-97, was unhappy with some of the tactical moves of Blues skipper Naved Khan that eventually let Abbottabad wriggle out of a difficult situation.

Karachi Whites’ openers Fazal Subhan and captain Asif Zakir shared a magnificent 283-run stand to guide their side to 315-4 against Lahore Shalimar, who had opted to field at the Gaddafi Stadium, with both reaching three figures.

Fazal, 25, struck a career-best 155 during his 242-ball knock, which contained 20 boundaries and a brace of sixes, while the 30-year-old Asif registered his 12th first-class century by scoring 114 (199 balls, 10 fours and one six).

Sialkot posted 299-6 against Lahore Ravi at the LCCA Ground. Hyderabad rode on veteran Faisal Athar’s unbeaten 126 (190 balls, 14 fours and one six) to reach 248-6 against Quetta at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad.

Usman Liaquat hit an undefeated 154 — the 21-year-old left-hander’s maiden hundred — to guide Multan to a 278-3 after Faisalabad opted to field first at the Iqbal Stadium.

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

Group-I: At National Stadium, Karachi: ABBOTTABAD 259-8 in 83 overs (Mohammad Naeem 75, Rehan Afridi 58 not out, Khalilullah Khan 53) v KARACHI BLUES.

At LCCA Ground, Lahore: SIALKOT 299-6 in 84 overs (Mansoor Amjad 59, Faisal Khan 57, Naved Sarwar 50, Adnan Zaheer 43; Aleem Yousuf 3-81) v LAHORE RAVI.

At Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan: RAWALPINDI 358-5 in 83 overs (Naved Malik 127, Shoaib Nasir 112) v BAHAWALPUR.

Group-II: At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: KARACHI WHITES 315-4 in 83 overs (Fazal Subhan 155, Asif Zakir 114) v LAHORE SHALIMAR.

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: HYDERABAD 248-6 in 83 overs (Faisal Athar 126 not out, Zafar Ali 60; Shahzad Tareen 4-80) v QUETTA.

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: MULTAN 278-3 in 83 overs (Usman Liaquat 154 not out, Waqar Hussain 51) v FAISALABAD.