KARACHI: Northern and Balochistan opened up their account in the 2022-23 Quaid-i-Azam Trophy with thumping wins over Southern Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa respectively, while Sindh managed a draw against Central Punjab as the first-class tournament’s opening round of matches concluded on Friday.

Northern opener Abdul Faseeh and Mohammad Huraira had to score just eight runs to give last year’s finalists a ten-wicket victory, after they wrapped up Southern Punjab for just 265 at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium. Pacer Musa Khan and spinner Mehran Mumtaz picked up three wickets apiece for the winners.

Southern Punjab, who started the day trailing by 117 with eight wickets in hand, were batting for the second time in a row, following on after managing just 269 in response to Northern’s mammoth first innings 529-5 (decl.).

All-rounder Mubasir Khan, who was named the player of the tournament in the previous edition of the Trophy, had claimed the wickets of Southern Punjab openers Umar Siddiq and Zain Abbas — centurion in the first innings — on the fourth day. He also ran out Usman Salahuddin, when the batter was playing at 55 to give Northern their first breakthrough on the final day.

It wasn’t only about the wickets for Mubasir, though he got one in the first innings as well. The right-hander plundered the Southern Punjab bowlers, including Pakistan international Hasan Ali, for 170 runs off 236 balls.

“I expect myself to score runs, take wickets and defend runs as a fielder,” the 20-year-old told Dawn. “That’s exactly what the coaches want me to do as well.”

The batting performances of Northern and Southern Punjab were in stark contrast in the match, with the former scoring more than 500 runs on the same pitch which saw the latter dismissed twice.

Mubasir admitted the surface was providing uneven bounce as the match progressed, but believed it was good for batters who had once settled in before going for runs.

“The wicket was good for the batsman who set themselves on it,” he said.

“[Abdul] Faseeh (151 off 158) really played well and Umar [Amin] (89 off 151) took a simple approach for his runs.”

Mubasir added Musa’s wicket-to-wicket approach and Pakistan Test spinner Nauman Ali’s experience helped Northern put up a decent bowling show.

The off-spinner, who featured for Islamabad United in this year’s Pakistan Super League, said he wanted to be an all-format player like his idols Babar Azam and Virat Kohli.

“Focusing on one format is an obsolete approach, players should be able to change their mindset according to the job at hand,” Mubasir said, adding that he wanted to finish as the Quaid Trophy’s top-scorer and the player of the tournament again and get Pakistan’s emerging central contract, which he missed out on earlier this year.

At the Abbotabad Cricket Stadium, defending champions Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were defeated by 134 run at the hands of Balochistan.

Set 370 to win, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were bowled out for 235 in just 68.5 overs after fighting knocks from Sahibzada Farhan (63 off 67) and number four Kamran Ghulam (61 off 109).

Khurram Shahzad finished with seven wickets for the match — returning three 3-61 in the fourth innings.

Balochistan’s Hussain Talat struck a half-century earlier in the day. The left-handed batter hit 55 off 80 after his team had started the day at 107-4 before declaring at 187-5.

In Rawalpindi, Tayyab Tahir’s unbeaten century for Central Punjab against Sindh was the highlight. The right-hander smashed 18 fours and three sixes after starting the day at 72 not out.

Central Punjab captain Mohammad Saad declared the innings at 277-9 before the match concluded with Sindh at 132-4.

The second round of the Trophy begins on Monday. Balochistan play Central Punjab at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Southern Punjab lock horns in Abbottabad and Northern and Sindh face off in Faisalabad.

Scores in brief:

Balochistan beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 134 runs

BALOCHISTAN 473 in 123 overs (Azeem Ghumman 78, Kashif Bhatti 71, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 69; Arshad Iqbal 4-114) and 187-5 in 52 overs (Hussain Talat 55; Arshad Iqbal 2-33); KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA 291 in 85.4 overs (Kamran Ghulam 102; Khurram Shahzad 4-67) and 235 in 68.5 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 63, Kamran Ghulam 61; Khurram Shahzad 3-61)

Northern beat Southern Punjab by 10 wickets

NORTHERN 529-5 (decl.) in 133 overs (Mubasir Khan 170 not out, Abdul Faseeh 151; Hassan Khan 3-94) and 8-0 in 1.3 overs; SOUTHERN PUNJAB 269 in 86.2 overs (Zain Abbas 120; Nauman Ali 4-73, Musa Khan 2-51) and 265 in 104 overs (Imran Rafiq 90, Usman Salahuddin 55; Musa Khan 3-39, Mehran Mumtaz 3-72)

Match drawn between Sindh and Central Punjab

CENTRAL PUNJAB 428 in 102.2 overs (Abdullah Shafique 232, Aamer Yamin 70; Mir Hamza 3-72) and 277-9 in 90.4 overs (Tayyab Tahir 152 not out, Abdullah Shafique 61; Asif Mehmood 4-59); SINDH 368 in 85.5 overs (Fawad Alam 127 not out, Sarfaraz Ahmed 78; Mohammad Ali 4-84) and 132-4 in 44 overs (Khurram Manzoor 50, Omair Bin Yousuf 37).

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2022