KARACHI: Karachi Dolphins’ new-ball pair of Mir Hamza and Adeel Malik produced a fascinating bowling performance to send Multan Tigers reeling to 46 all out on the opening day of their seventh-round Gold League fixture in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship in Multan on Tuesday.

Put into bat by returning Dolphins skipper Rameez Raja at the Multan Cricket Stadium, the Tigers lasted just 13.5 overs at the crease with Adeel taking four for 21 in seven overs (one maiden) and the emerging left-armer Mir Hamza 6-16 in 6.5 overs (two were maiden).

The most astounding statistic to emerge was that five of the hapless batsmen were bowled and four leg-before with the solitary exception being No 10 Mohammad Irfan who was caught behind by Mohammad Hasan off Hamza. Moreover, all-rounder Kashif Naved (14 not out off 25 balls, two fours) was the only one to reach double figures while no less than six of his team-mates departed without scoring.

At one point it seemed that the Tigers would fold up for less than 20 when they lost the first six wickets for nine runs after openers Ammar Ali and Usman Liaquat started with a stand of five. In fact after just a single was added after the first wicket fell, the next four went down for no run.

The Dolphins then went on a run spree as they closed at 307-4 to have an already-commanding lead of 261. Rameez, dropped for the previous two games, returned to form wit 78-ball 82 (12 fours and one six) and shared an opening stand of 105 with Fazal Subhan (37).

After the openers were dismissed, Yasir Mushtaq (62 off 104, eight boundaries) and Mohammad Waqas (68 off 108, eight fours) added 95 for the third wicket.

Discarded Test opener Khurram Manzoor struck an undefeated 111 (248 balls, 15 fours) to propel Port Qasim Authority (PQA) to 248-2 after ZTBL captain Shoaib Malik opted to bowl first at the National Cricket Ground.

Umar Akmal’s sequence of low scores continued when the Pakistan batsman was caught behind for only 18 (season tally: 144 in 10 innings) as leaders SNGPL stuttered to 209-6 after deciding to bat first against United Bank at the Marghazar Cricket Ground in the federal capital.

Upcoming left-handed opener Sami Aslam hit an undefeated 101 (254 balls, 12 fours and one six) to help National Bank collect 238-2 to nullify Wapda’s advantage of winning the toss at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.

Rawalpindi Rams, put into bat, were 322-7 against Islamabad Leopards at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad while Lahore Lions struggled to 220-7 after they asked to bat first by Peshawar Panthers at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

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

At Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan: MULTAN TIGERS 46 in 13.5 overs (Kashif Naved 14 not out; Mir Hamza 6-16, Adeel Malik 4-31); KARACHI DOLPHINS 307-4 in (Rameez Raja 82, Mohammad Waqas 68, Yasir Mushtaq 62, Fazal Subhan 37, Saad Ali 27 not out, Babar Hussain Agha 22 not out; Haziq Habibullah 2-89).

At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: LAHORE LIONS 220-7 in 85 overs (Saad Nasim 71, Raza Ali Dar 51, Mohammad Farhan 31; Taj Wali 4-62, Azizullah 2-47) vs PESHAWAR PANTHERS.

At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: NATIONAL BANK 238-2 in 86 overs (Sami Aslam 101 not out, Fawad Alam 54 not out, Nasir Jamshed 53) vs WAPDA.

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: RAWALPINDI RAMS 322-7 in 84.4 overs (Naved Malik 80, Usman Saeed 78, Yasim Murtaza 60 not out, Zahid Mansoor 42; Hamza Nadeem 2-49, Imad Wasim 2-52, Zohaib Ahmed 2-71) vs ISLAMABAD LEOPARDS.

At Marghazar Cricket Ground, Islamabad: SNGPL 209-6 in 80 overs (Ali Waqas 66, Khurram Shehzad 58 not out, Imran Butt 37; Prince Abbas 3-47, Ali Zahid 2-45) vs UNITED BANK.

At National Cricket Ground, Islamabad: PORT QASIM AUTHORITY 248-2 in 84 overs (Khurram Manzoor 111 not out, Umar Amin 51 not out, Shahzaib Hasan 50) vs ZTBL.

Published in Dawn, November 19th , 2014