KARACHI: Ahmed Shehzad hit a double century for Lahore Whites against Peshawar, while Multan’s Zahid Mahmood registered a five-wicket haul to hurt Karachi Whites in their respective fifth-round matches of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy on Thursday.

Rawalpindi, meanwhile, were asked to follow-on after a dismal batting show against Lahore Blues and six wickets by Khurram Shehzad saw Faisalabad move into a dominant position against Fata.

Lahore Whites added 193 runs to their overnight score of 375-2 before being bowled out for 568 as opener Ahmed smashed 253 off 409 balls. His innings included 30 boundaries and a six. Umar Akmal, who made his first-class comeback, also added 64 off 140, hitting seven fours and a maximum.

Mehran Ibrahim was the pick of the Peshawar bowlers with five wickets before his team posted 76-1 by the close of the day’s play.

At the KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi, Karachi Whites could manage 194 in their first innings after having started the day at 86-5, thanks to leg-spinner Zahid’s five wickets, while fellow spinner Ali Usman claimed four victims. It could have been worse for the Karachi outfit had it not been for crucial contributions of 38 not out and 36 from tailenders Tabish Khan and Mir Hamza.

Multan, who had posted 220 in their first innings, in response, made 169-3 by stumps, courtesy Imran Rafiq’s 70 off 147 and and Sharoon Siraj’s 60 not out off 142.

Lahore Blues, at Rawalpindi’s Pindi Cricket Stadium, started their day at 359-4 but lost their remaining six wickets for only 37 runs as Rawalpindi pacer Kashif Ali bagged six wickets while Awais Anwar bagged three.

Rawalpindi, in return, were bowled out for 176 runs, of which Mehran Mumtaz contributed 40 off 46. Nisar Ahmed got four wickets while Ali Shafiq returned with three victims for Lahore Blues as

Rawalpindi were 40 for no loss at stumps as they started to follow-on.

At the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Fata were bundled out for 128 in their first innings as Khurram registered a six-wicket haul. Faisalabad, in response, posted as many runs at the loss of five wickets by stumps as Taimoor Sultan hit 52 off 79. Mohammad Irfan and Arshad Ullah returned with two wickets apiece for Fata.

Scores in brief

Peshawar trail by 492 runs against Lahore Whites

LAHORE WHITES 568 in 161.2 overs (Ahmed Shahzad 253; Ali Zaryab Asif 141; Mehran Ibrahim 5-57, Sajid Khan 2-152); PESHAWAR 76-1 in 16 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 33 not out, Waqar Ahmed 29 not out; Asad Ullah 1-32)

Multan lead by 195 runs against Karachi Whites

MULTAN 220 in 50.2 overs (Mohammad Basit 60, Ali Usman 57; Tabish Khan 3-40, Mir Hamza 3-54) and 169-3 in 59.1 overs (Imran Rafiq 70; Sharoon Siraj 60 not out; Asad Shafiq 1-0, Ghulam Mudassar 1-25, Noman Ali 1-38); KARACHI WHITES 194 in 64.2 overs (Saim Ayub 40, Tabish Khan 38 not out, Mir Hamza 36; Zahid Mahmood 5-69, Ali Usman 4-50)

Rawalpindi trail by 180 runs against Lahore Blues

LAHORE BLUES 396 in 99.3 overs (Hussain Talat 104, Junaid Ali 102; Kashif Ali 6-86, Mohammad Awais Anwar 3-109); RAWALPINDI 176 in 50.2 overs (Mehran Mumtaz 40, Mohammad Faizan 31; Nisar Ahmed 4-55, Ali Shafiq 3-55) and 40-0 in 14 overs (Abdul Faseeh 14 not out, Zeeshan Malik 9 not out)

Faisalabad lead by 215 runs against Fata

FAISALABAD 215 in 79.5 overs (Faheem Ashraf 76, Mohammad Huraira 37; Asif Afridi 3-37, Aimal Khan 2-54, Arshad Ullah 2-57) and 128-5 in 38.3 overs (Taimoor Sultan 52, Mohammad Abubakar Khan 37; Mohammad Irfan 2-9, Arshad Ullah 2-32); FATA 128 in 43.4 overs (Mohammad Sarwar Afridi 35, Mohammad Nisar Afridi 32; Khurram Shahzad 6-23, Mohammad Ali 2-48).

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2023