KARACHI: Moinuddin and Adeel Basit struck unbeaten centuries as Bahawalpur put a commanding batting performance on Monday at the start of the fifth and final round of matches in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-II cricket tournament.

After Adeel chose to bat first against Quetta at the Dring Stadium, hosts Bahawalpur amassed 398-3 in the stipulated 83 overs set aside for the first innings. The highlight obviously being the unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 265 in 191 minutes between skipper Adeel and Moinuddin.

Adeel contributed a sedate 108 off 155 balls with the aid of six fours and one six, while Moinuddin banged 13 boundaries and hoisted seven sixes in his swashbuckling 138-ball knock of 160.

Rafay Ahmed scored 51 from 84 deliveries while striking seven boundaries.

Quetta negotiated five overs to make 15 without loss before stumps were drawn for the day.

In the other Pool ‘A’ fixture at the Multan Cricket Stadium, Sardar Hasan Raza stood out with a defiant 145 as Azad Jammu Kashmir managed 235 all out after being sent into bat by Multan captain Zulfiqar Babar.

Hasan’s 212-ball effort, containing 16 boundaries, enabled AJK recover from 106-6 with Abdul Shakoor (36) helping him add 90 for the seventh wicket.

Zulfiqar, the former Test spinner, picked up five wickets for 60 runs in 31 overs while medium-pacer Ahsan Baig bagged three for 46.

Multan reached 26-0 after seven overs in their reply.

Karachi Blues were on top in the Pool ‘B’ encounter here at the National Stadium as Larkana capitulated for a measly 144 after opting to bat first.

Mohsin Raza ended up making an undefeated 59 while Mohammad Umar, Tariq Haroon and Ashiq Ali equally shared nine wickets between them.

The home side closed day one at 126-4 with opener Amad Alam hitting nine fours in his 86-ball contribution of 64.

Former international Mansoor Amjad hit 83 (off 138 balls, 11 fours and one six), opener Naeemuddin 68 before tailender Usama Mir made an undefeated 52 to help Sialkot collect 318 all out after Abdur Rehman elected to bat against Hyderabad at the TMC Ground.

Slow left-armer Nauman Ali starred with figures of 5-109 from 32 overs before Hyderabad responded with 10-0 in six overs.

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

Fifth round:

Pool ‘A’:

At Dring Stadium, Bahawalpur: BAHAWALPUR 398-3 in 83 overs (Moinuddin 160 not out, Adeel Basit 108 not out, Rafay Ahmed 51, Mohammad Wasim 48, Mudassar Nazir 22; M. Shahzad Tareen 2-77); QUETTA 15-0 in 5 overs.

At Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan: AZAD JAMMU KASHMIR 235 in 80.1 overs (Sardar Hasan Raza 145, Abdul Shakoor 36; Zulfiqar Babar 5-60, Ahsan Baig 3-46); MULTAN 26-0 in 7 overs.

Pool ‘B’:

At National Stadium, Karachi: LARKANA 144 in 54.4 overs (Mohsin Raza 59 not out, Asif Babar 22; Ashiq Ali 3-14, Tariq Haroon 3-19, Mohammad Umar 3-35); KARACHI BLUES 126-4 in 31 overs (Amad Alam 64, Saud Shakeel 35; Aamir Ali Pahnwar 2-35).

At TMC Ground, Karachi: SIALKOT 318 in 81.4 overs (Mansoor Amjad 83, Naeemuddin 68, Usama Mir 52 not out, Kaleem Ahmed 26; Nauman Ali 5-109, Babar Khan 2-56, Lal Kumar 2-93); HYDERABAD 10-0 in 6 overs.

Published in Dawn, Aprill 17th, 2018