The eight-round of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2021-22 season began at three Karachi venues today. On a day dominated by bowlers, Balochistan opener Shan Masood scored his second successive century.
At the UBL Sports Complex, Northern (fifth on the points table) got off to a fantastic start against table-toppers Sindh by reducing them to 70 for six in 25 overs before lunch. Northern who opted to bowl first were rewarded by their bowlers in the opening session of the match as Sindh’s batting line-up stuttered on a pitch that offered early help to the bowlers.
Sindh continued to lose wickets in the post-lunch session and declared their innings at 98 for nine (31 overs) to ensure Northern do not collect the full six bowling points that they would have salvaged by bowling out Sindh inside 100 overs. Omair Bin Yousuf (33) was the top-scorer for Sindh in what was otherwise a disappointing batting performance. For Northern, Ather Mahmood took four wickets for 23 while Kashif Ali captured three for 42.
In reply, Northern lost their openers with only 18 runs on the board before captain Umar Amin revived the innings with an unbeaten 118-run third-wicket partnership with Sarmad Bhatti. At close of play, Umar was batting on 69 (119 balls, 11 fours) while Sarmad was 53 (141 balls, six fours) not out. Northern ended the day at 136 for two, having already accumulated a 38-run first innings lead.
Sohail Khan took the two wickets to fall.
Over at the State Bank of Pakistan Stadium in the match between Southern Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which is being live streamed on PCB’s YouTube channel, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa opted to bowl and their bowlers made most of the conditions by taking four Southern Punjab wickets in the morning session as lunch was taken with Southern Punjab wobbling at 51 for four.
Southern Punjab got some respite through all-rounder Muhammad Imran’s fighting 64 off 83 balls (four fours, four sixes). Like Sindh, Southern Punjab also managed to avoid conceding full six bowling points to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by declaring their first innings at 166 for nine.
Fast bowler Arshad Iqbal took four wickets for 41. Left-arm-spinner Asif Afridi who is captaining Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in this match took two wickets for 36 runs.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were also off to a shaky start as they finished day-one at 45 for two. Opener Musadiq Ahmed and number three Israrullah were the two batters dismissed.
Over at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex, Balochistan openers got their side off to a flying start by reaching 97 for no loss at lunch on day-one. Left-hander Shan Masood continued his rich vein of form by scoring his second successive century for Balochistan in as many appearances.
Shan hit 13 fours and three sixes in his 102 off 142 balls before falling to Bilawal Iqbal. Shan added 157 runs for the first-wicket with Imran Butt who contributed 65 off 136 balls (seven fours, one six).
After losing the openers, the Balochistan middle-order went cheaply to leave the side in slight discomfort at 247 for five. Ayaz Tassawar (36) and Kashif Bhatti (30) took the side to stumps without further loss. The two had so far added 36 runs for the sixth-wicket. For Central Punjab Hussain Talat and Zafar Gohar took two wickets each.
Scores in brief:
Sindh vs Northern – UBL Sports Complex, Karachi
Sindh 98 for 9 declared, 31 overs (Omair Bin Yousuf 33, Mir Hamza 18 not out; Ather Mahmood 4-23, Kashif Ali 3-42)
Northern 136 for 2, 46 overs (Umar Amin 69 not out, Sarmad Bhatti 53 not out; Sohail Khan 2-39)
Points so far: Sindh – zero, Northern – three
Southern Punjab vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – State Bank of Pakistan Stadium, Karachi
Southern Punjab 166 for 9, 57.1 overs (Muhammad Imran 64, Yousuf Babar 28, Tayyab Tahir 26; Arshad Iqbal 4-41, Asif Afridi 2-36)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 45 for 2, 20 overs.
Points so far: Southern Punjab – zero, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – three.
Balochistan vs Central Punjab – National Bank of Pakistan Stadium, Karachi
Balochistan 283 for 5, 83 overs (Shan Masood 102, Imran Butt 65; Hussain Talat 2-18)
Points so far: Balochistan – two, Central Punjab – one.
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