KARACHI: Left-arm fast bowler Zohaib Shera produced a devastating burst with the new ball as Karachi Blues began their campaign in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-II Cricket Tournament by dismissing Quetta for a paltry first-innings tally of 72 in Multan on Wednesday.

After skipper Akbar-ur-Rehman put Quetta into bat at the toss, Karachi Blues were on top from the start of the Group ‘A’ fixture at the Multan Cricket Stadium as Zohaib captured five wickets for 19 runs in six overs.

Left-hander Abdul Hannan was the only Quetta batsman to reach double figures. He ended up making 33 not out. Slow left-armer Mohammad Asghar lent excellent support to Zohaib by taking three wickets for just four wickets in 4.4 overs.

Karachi Blues were already in front by 199 runs as they reached stumps at 271-7. Saeed bin Nasir hit 98 off 158 balls with 11 boundaries and a six, while Akbar made 51.

Discarded Pakistan spinner Abdur Rehman took 5-24 in 18.4 overs and left-arm paceman Mohammad Kamran claimed 5-46 as Sialkot bundled out Dera Murad Jamali for 141 at the Marghazar Cricket Ground in Islamabad.

Sialkot, who had their opening fixture against Abbottabad washed out, were 169-4 in reply.

Opener Zain Abbas scored 185 to help Multan amass 365-5 declared against Bahawalpur at the Dring Stadium in Bahawalpur. The hosts collected 26-0 in reply.

Abbottabad hut up 156-3 after dismissing Azad Jammu Kashmir for 110 at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.

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

Group ‘A’:

At Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan: QUETTA 72 in 23.4 overs (Abdul Hannan 33 not out; Zohaib Shera 5-19, Mohammad Asghar 3-4, Sohail Khan 2-33); KARACHI BLUES 271-7 in 61.1 overs (Saeed bin Nasir 98, Akbar-ur-Rehman 51, Sohail Khan 39, Saifullah Khan Bangash 38 not out; Irfanullah 2-38, Sher Ali 2-49).

At Dring Stadium, Bahawalpur: MULTAN 365-5 declared in 81 overs (Zain Abbas 185 not out, Saeed Anwar Jr 110, Ammar Ali 43; Imranullah Aslam 2-77, Muzammil Tehsin 2-93); BAHAWALPUR 26-0 in 7 overs.

Group ‘B’:

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: AZAD JAMMU KASHMIR 110 in 49.2 overs (Mohammad Fahad 26; Ikramullah Khan 4-23, Fakhar Zaman 3-7, Ahmed Jamal 2-24); ABBOTTABAD 156-3 in 38 overs (Riaz Kail 56 not out, Khalilullah 38 not out, Sajjad Ali 26).

At Marghazar Cricket Ground, Islamabad: DERA MURAD JAMALI 141 in 49.4 overs (Nasir Khan 36, Adil Pathan 32; Abdur Rehman 5-24, Mohammad Kamran 5-46); SIALKOT 169-4 in 40 overs (Naeemuddin 60, Salman Ali 43 not out, Ali Khan 35 not out; Zahoor Ahmed 3-44).

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2016