HBL take early honours, Multan put NBP under pressure
KARACHI, Nov 4: Defending champions Karachi Blues were bowled for a modest first-innings total of 190 by last season's runners-up Habib Bank on the first day of the third-round Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship Division One match here on Thursday.
Asked to bat first by Hasan Raza, who won the toss at the Southend Club Cricket Stadium, the Blues lost initiative after upcoming opener Rameez Raja banged 47 off 33 balls in 49 minutes with six fours and one six. Slow left-armer Aslam Qureshi grabbed 5-30 in 20.5 overs while former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood took 2-32.
The bankers, however, also found the going tough as they went to stumps at 52-3.
Wapda were 135-5 after bowling out hosts Islamabad for 140 at the Diamond Club Ground with left-arm paceman Sarfraz Ahmed taking 4-41 and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan 3-23.
Taimur Dogar hit 82 and Kashif Naved 63 as Multan made 303 against National Bank at the Multan Cricket Stadium. The home side completed a good day by reducing the bankers to 35-2 with both wickets taken by Test reject Abdur Rauf, who is also Multan skipper.
An unbroken stand of 128 between Atif Ashraf (73) and ex-international Junaid Zia (56) lifted ZTBL to 270-5 against Faisalabad at the Sports Stadium in Sargodha.
PIA found themselves struggling at 171-9 after being put into bat by Rawalpindi at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The damage was done by left-arm seamer Nasir Malik who has so far claimed six for 55.
An undefeated 106 from Faisal Khan and Hafiz Majid Jahangir's 92 helped Sialkot to make 261-3 against SNGPL at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot.
Asim Kamal, bidding to fight his way into the Pakistan team, struck a 123-ball 80 with 11 boundaries as Karachi Whites reached 307 in their first innings against PTV in the Division Two fixture here at the National Stadium. Skipper Khalid Latif, another Pakistan discard, slammed 15 fours and one six in scoring 91 off just 93 deliveries while Asif Zakir contributed 65.
Hyderabad laboured to 179-2 in 84 overs after State Bank of Pakistan chose to field first at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad. Former Pakistan Under-19 captain Azeem Ghumman batted patiently for his 73 not out, 263-ball knock featuring six fours.
Opener Waqar Orakzai gave Abbottabad a fine start with an unbeaten 120 (13 fours and one six) as the visitors closed the opening day's play at 227-1 against Lahore Ravi at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
At the adjacent LCCA Ground, Lahore Shalimar were 238-3 against Quetta with opener Hamza Paracha scoring 85 and Usman Salahuddin an unbeaten 63.
Scores on Thursday (day one of four):Division One:
At Southend Club Cricket Stadium, Karachi: KARACHI BLUES 190 in 60.5 overs (Rameez Raja 47; Aslam Qureshi 5-30); HABIB BANK 52-3 in 19.1 overs.At Multan Cricket Stadium: MULTAN 303 in 71.3 overs (Taimur Dogar 82, Kashif Naved 63; Wasim Khan 4-46); NATIONAL BANK 35-2 in 9 overs (Abdur Rauf 2-16).At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: ISLAMABAD 140 in 46 overs (Ameer Khan 52; Sarfraz Ahmed 4-41, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan 3-23); WAPDA 135-5 in 32.2 overs (Nasarullah 3-32).At Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium: PIA 171-9 in 67 overs (Nasir Malik 6-55) v RAWALPINDI.At Sports Stadium, Sargodha: ZTBL 270-5 in 87 overs (Atif Ashraf 73 not out, Junaid Zia 56 not out, Inam-ul-Haq 53) v FAISALABAD.At Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot: SIALKOT 261-3 in 83 overs (Faisal Khan 106 not out, Hafiz Majid Jahangir 92) v SNGPL.Division Two:At National Stadium, Karachi: KARACHI WHITES 307 in 76.2 overs (Khalid Latif 91, Asim Kamal 80, Asif Zakir 65; Yasim Murtaza 5-69, Saad Altaf 4-95); PTV 4-0 in 4 overs.At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: HYDERABAD 179-2 in 84 overs (Azeem Ghumman 73 not out, Rizwan Ahmed 48 not out) v STATE BANK.At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: ABBOTTABAD 227-1 in 87 overs (Waqar Orakzai 120 not out, Ghulam Mohammad 49, Zia-ul-Haq 48 not out) v LAHORE RAVI.At LCCA Ground, Lahore: LAHORE SHALIMAR 238-3 in 83 overs (Hamza Paracha 85, Usman Salahuddin 63 not out) v QUETTA.At Sports Complex, Mardan: PESHAWAR 242 in 75.2 overs (Sajjad Ahmed Sr 65, Mohammad Fayyaz 49, Riaz Afridi 44; Jaffar Nazir 4-67); KRL 0-1 in 0.2 over.