KARACHI: Pakistan Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq returned to domestic cricket with a fine century as Faisalabad held ascendancy over Hyderabad in their Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-II fixture at the National Stadium here on Sunday.

Misbah, who is due to head off to the West Indies next month possibly for his final tour with the national Test side before retiring from international cricket, engineered Faisalabad’s recovery with a typically gutsy knock to help his team collect 285 all out after Hyderabad skipper Rizwan Ahmed chose to field first in the Group ‘B’ match.

Misbah, who turns 43 on May 28, participated in the Hong Kong T20 Blitz at the conclusion of the Pakistan Super League, came to the crease with his side in some bother at 98-3. He was eventually dismissed for 111, becoming one of the five wickets for off-spinner Nasir Awais who finished with 5-127 in 32.3 overs.

The pitch, uncharacteristically favouring spinners, was never easy to bat on as gauged by Misbah’s 167-ball innings which contained only three fours and four sixes. Opener Abdul Samad was the next best run-getter with a 76-ball 31, while his partner Ali Rafiq spent over 82 balls to make 29.

Slow left-armer Nauman Ali grabbed 4-110 in 37 overs.

Faisalabad then made early inroads as former international Samiullah Khan Niazi sent back Mohammad Saddam and Mir Darya Khan for ducks as Hyderabad ended the day at 7-2.

Dera Murad Jamali were in the driving seat at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad by bowling out Quetta for a first-innings tally of 121 after the latter opted to bat first.

Leg-spinner Aftab Ahmed claimed 5-26 in 10 overs before Dera Murad Jamali reached 131-3 at stumps with opener Abid Ali (43) and Najeebullah (55) engaged in an unbroken partnership of 81.

In the Group ‘A’ action, Multan were struggling at 45-3 after Larkana had posted 227 all out at the Dring Stadium in Bahawalpur.

Larkana, electing to bat first, were in dire straits at 62-4 but made a splendid recovery thanks to the 119-run stand between Sadam Hussain (97 off 182 balls, 14 boundaries) and Samadullah (47 off 123).

Paceman Sadaif Mehdi took 4-38 and slow left-armer Ali Usman 3-76.

Ex-Pakistan spinner Abdur Rehman, who had won the toss, snared three wickets for 65 runs in 22 overs as Sialkot dismissed Bahawalpur for 222 at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan.

All-rounder Mohammad Imran contributed an undefeated 47.

Sialkot then ended the day on 44 without loss in this qualifying event for the next first-class season. Only the winners would earn the right to compete in the prestigious championship in 2017-18.

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

Fourth round:

Group ‘A’:

At Dring Stadium, Bahawalpur: LARKANA 227 in 72 overs (Sadam Hussain 97, Samadullah 47, Asif Babar 25, Imtiaz Leghari 21; Sadaif Mehdi 4-38, Ali Usman 3-76); MULTAN 45-3 in 16 overs.

At Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan: BAHAWALPUR 222 in 73.2 overs (Mohammad Imran 47 not out, Jawwad Hussain 39, Faisal Bin Mubashir 35, Mazhar Bashir 34, Adeel Basit 21; Abdur Rehman 3-65, Amad Butt 2-37, Bilawal Bhatti 2-39, Mohammad Abbas 2-47); SIALKOT 44-0 in 13 overs (Naeemuddin 20 not out).

Group ‘B’:

At National Stadium, Karachi: FAISALABAD 285 in 82.3 overs (Misbah-ul-Haq 111, Abdul Samad 31, Ali Rafiq 29, Abubakar Khan 27; Nasir Awais 5-127, Nauman Ali 4-110); HYDERABAD 7-2 in 4.5 overs (Samiullah Khan Niazi 2-0).

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: QUETTA 121 in 45.2 overs (Rameez Raja 42; Aftab Ahmed 5-26, Saleem Mal 2-18, Zahoor Khan 2-31); DERA MURAD JAMALI 131-3 in 42 overs (Najeebullah 55 not out, Abid Ali 43 not out).

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2017