KARACHI, Nov 27: Hyderabad had no answer to Karachi Harbour’s pace duo of Rajesh Ramesh and Malik Aftab as they crashed to 72 all out on the opening day of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Silver League final at Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday.

Both Ramesh and the left-armer Aftab grabbed five wickets each after Moin Khan, the Karachi Harbour skipper, had elected to field first after winning the toss.

By close of play in the five-day fixture, Karachi Harbour had already taken a commanding first-innings lead of 150 runs despite losing three early wickets for 49.

But the in-form Faisal Iqbal and Afsar Nawaz thwarted Hyderabad’s attempt for further breakthrough with a rollicking stand of 173 in 153 minutes. Faisal continued his good run with 85 while Afsar was batting on 77.

The 23-year-old Ramesh dismissed five of the top seven batsmen in a splendid 11-over burst while conceding 35 runs for his sixth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.

Aftab was not to be left behind as he went one better by taking a career-best five for 34 in 11.1 overs. No batsman in the top six managed to reach double figures as the hosts plunged to 11 for five.

All-rounder Shoaib Leghari managed to strike three fours and one six in making a defiant 23 off 22 balls. Pace bowler Kashif Raza also hit three boundaries in reaching 20 off 28 balls.

In fact, Hyderabad’s sad plight can be gauged by the fact that the highest partnership of the innings was provided by Kashif and Naeemur Rahman who added 30 for the final wicket.

Karachi Harbour’s innings had an uncertain beginning. Openers Agha Sabir (15), Asif Zakir (16) and Mohtashim Ali (4) all perished, caught behind off Kashif Raza.

But Faisal, who has so far slammed 10 fours and one six in his 127-ball knock, and Afsar (11 fours and one six in a 142-ball innings) ensured the day belonged to Karachi Harbour, who are now sure to play in the more lucrative Gold League championship next season.

Scoreboard

HYDERABAD (1st Innings):

Faisal Athar c Faisal b Ramesh 0

Akram Khan b Ramesh 2

Hanifur Rahman c Afsar b Aftab 2

Rizwan Ahmed c Moin b Aftab 5

Aqeel Anjum b Ramesh 1

Shahid Qambrani c Atif b Ramesh 4

Shoaib Leghari b Ramesh 23

Hanif Malik c Atif b Aftab 0

Imran Ali c Faisal b Aftab 0

Kashif Raza c Moin b Aftab 20

Naeemur Rahman not out 13

EXTRAS (LB-2) 2

TOTAL (all out, 23.1 overs) 72

FALL OF WKTS: 1-0, 2-5, 3-7, 4-11, 5-11, 6-21, 7-24, 8-24, 9-42.

BOWLING: Rajesh Ramesh 11-2-35-5; Malik Aftab 11.1-2-34-5; Mohammad Hasnain 1-0-1-0.

KARACHI HARBOUR (1st Innings):

Agha Sabir c Hanif Malik b Kashif 13

Asif Zakir c Hanif Malik b Kashif 16

Mohtashim Ali c Hanif Malik b Kashif 4

Faisal Iqbal not out 85

Afsar Nawaz not out 77

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-2, NB-19) 25

TOTAL (for three wkts, 59 overs) 222

FALL OF WKTS: 1-31, 2-36, 3-49.

TO BAT: Fawad Alam, Moin Khan, Rajesh Ramesh, Atif Maqbool, Mohammad Hasnain, Malik Aftab.

BOWLING (to-date): Kashif Raza 13-1-42-3 (1nb); Naeemur Rahman 12-2-40-0 (3nb); Imran Ali 13-2-53-0 (15nb); Shoaib Leghari 13-1-38-0; Rizwan Ahmed 7-0-39-0; Shahid Qambrani 1-0-4-0.

UMPIRES: Z.I. Pasha and Iqbal Butt.

MATCH REFEREE: Taslim Arif.