KARACHI: Riding on excellent contributions from Afaq Ahmed and Mashal Khan, Abbottabad put Multan bowling to the sword by amassing 404-7 at the start of their second-round fixture in the PCB Inter-region Under-19 three-day competition here on Wednesday.

Opting to bat first in the Group ‘A’ match at the UBL Sports Complex, Abbottabad owed their commanding total to opener Afaq (91 off 140 balls, eight fours and two sixes) and Mashal, who banged a quickfire 107 from 93 balls with the aid of eight fours and four sixes. Shahbaz Khan hit five fours and three sixes in making 50.

Leg-spinner Shoaib Khan took 4-71 in 12 overs before Multan ended the day at 24-1.

Skipper Obaisullah Khan came to the rescue with a fine 94 (134 balls, six boundaries) as Karachi Blues recovered from 102-5 to 286 against Quetta at the TMC Ground. The visitors were 28-1 in reply.

Paceman Said Nazir captured 6-46 in enabling Fata bowl Dera Murad Jamali (DMJ) out for 168 in their first innings at the NBP Sports Complex.

Fata then completed a good day by going to stumps at 115-1.

Umar Shafiq struck 140 (191 balls, 15 fours and four sixes) and Mohsin Riaz (152 balls, nine boundaries) as Sialkot collected 341-7 in the Group ‘B’ encounter against Islamabad at the Jinnah Stadium in Gujranwala before Islamabad replied with 28-1 at draw of stumps.

Faisalabad were in driving seat by reaching 208-8 after dismissing Larkana for 164 at the Bohranwali Ground in Faisalabad. The top performer of the day was slow left-armer Ali Raza with superlative analysis of 7-45 in 18 overs.

Wicket-keeper Abdul Hadi slammed an undefeated 124 (194 balls, 14 fours and one six) as he helped opener Naved Ahmed (94 off 183 balls, 14 fours) while adding 139 for the fourth wicket as Bahawalpur made 289-9 against Peshawar at the Gohati Cricket Ground in Swabi.

Peshawar ended the first day at 48 without loss.

Lahore Whites’ miserable season continued when they were reduced to 88-6 after Karachi Whites totalled 277 in their first innings of the Group ‘C’ clash at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium in Azad Jammu Kashmir.

Mohammad Usman was the top scorer for Karachi with a breezy 94 from 118 balls (eight fours and two sixes, while skipper Saim Ayub scored a 76-ball 75 with 10 hits to the fence. Off-spinner Adil Sarwar picked up five wickets for 74 runs.

Haider Ali hammered 133 off 134 balls (18 fours and one six) to help Rawalpindi make 271-6 in 62 overs of play against Azad Jammu Kashmir at the Marghazar Cricket Ground in Islamabad.

Play was also curtailed at the National Ground in the federal capital. In 46 overs possible Lahore Blues managed to score 135-2 after Ibtisam-ul-Haq (67) and Syed Taqi Bilgrami (51) put on 109 for the opening stand.

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

Second round:

Group ‘A’:

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: ABBOTTABAD 404-7 in 83 overs (Mashal Khan 107, Afaq Ahmed 91, Shahbaz Khan 50, Abdullah 39, Aamir Shah 35, Hamza Khan 28 not out, Khayyam Khan 21; Shoaib Khan 4-71); MULTAN 24-1 in 6 overs.

At TMC Ground, Karachi: KARACHI BLUES 286 in 81.4 overs (Obaisullah Khan 94, Saif Ali 44, Ahsanullah 40; Akhtar Shah 3-33, Junaid Khan 3-60); QUETTA 28-1 in 12 overs.

At NBP Sports Complex, Karachi: DERA MURAD JAMALI 168 in 51.5 overs (Fahad Hussain 57, Mohammad 31; Said Nazir 6-46, Mohammad Wasim 2-32); FATA 115-1 in 40 overs (Mohammad Ajmal 42 not out, Aftab Alam 35, Zahid Gul 22 not out).

Group ‘B’:

At Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala: SIALKOT 341-7 in 83 overs (Umar Shafiq 140, Mohsin Riaz 107, Anas Amjad 31, Ghulam Mohiuddin 22, Asher Bhatti 21; Haroon Wahid 2-35, Bilal Ahmed 2-59); ISLAMABAD 28-1 in 5 overs.

At National Ground, Islamabad: LAHORE BLUES 135-2 in 46 overs (Ibtisam-ul-Haq 67, Syed Taqi Bilgrami 51) vs HYDERABAD.

At Gohati Cricket Ground, Swabi: BAHAWALPUR 289-9 in 83 overs (Abdul Hadi 124 not out, Naved Ahmed 94, Abdur Rehman 22, Mohammad Hamza 20; Mohammad Aamir 4-90, Niaz Khan 2-52); PESHAWAR 48-0 in 10 overs (Mamoon Ibrahim 24 not out, Abuzar Tariq 21 not out).

Group ‘C’:

At Bohranwali Ground, Faisalabad: LARKANA 164 in 48.3 overs (Javed Ali Khoso 46, Ashfaq Ahmed 39; Ali Raza 7-45, Suleman Shafqat 3-60); FAISALABAD 208-8 in 55 overs (Zohaib Amanat 83, Daniyal Ali 29, Mohammad Irfan Khan 24; Aamir Ali 5-61, Umar Khalid 2-26).

At Marghazar Cricket Ground, Islamabad: RAWALPINDI 271-6 in 62 overs (Haider Ali 133, Ziad Khan 37, Mubasir Khan 37, Mohammad Salar Ansari 26; Najam Naseer 2-67, Usama Fazil 2-67 vs AZAD JAMMU KASHMIR.

At Mirpur Cricket Stadium, Mirpur (AJK): KARACHI WHITES 277 in 64.4 overs (Mohammad Usman 94, Saim Ayub 75, Ammar Iqbal 28, Mubashir Nawaz 26; Adil Sarwar 5-74, Faridoun Mahmood 2-31, Shafay Malik 2-61); LAHORE WHITES 88-6 in 28.2 overs (Hasan Dar 47 not out, Shafay Malik 22; Maaz Bin Salman 4-27).

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2018