Faizan, Akhlaq, Khalid And Zulfiqar Star On Day One Of Three-day Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

Faizan Riaz, Mohammad Akhlaq, Khalid Usman and Zulfiqar Babar stole the limelight on day one of the three-day non-first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches on Saturday

Lahore (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th September, 2019) Faizan Riaz, Mohammad Akhlaq, Khalid Usman and Zulfiqar Babar stole the limelight on day one of the three-day non-first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches on Saturday.

Batting at No.4 for Northern, Faizan stroked a punishing 156 not out to help his side to 282 for eight against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Rawalpindi, while opener Akhlaq scored 135 for Central Punjab and Southern Punjab’s left-arm spinner and mentor Zulfiqar Babar took five for 103 in Faisalabad as the former was dismissed for 253.

In Karachi, Balochistan were skittled out for 183 against Sindh with Hasan Khan finishing as the pick of the bowlers with four for 34. The only notable run-getter for Balochistan was Awais Zia who scored 71 with eight fours.

In Rawalpindi, Faizan single-handedly put Northern in commanding position. Coming out to bat at the score of 48 for two, Faizan hit 20 fours in a 190-ball innings.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s left-arm spinner Khalid Usman was the destroyer-in-chief when he recorded impressive figures of 24-5-70-5.

When stumps were drawn for the day, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were 26 for no loss with Mohammad Nadeem batting on 19 and Samiullah seven not out.

Akhlaq hit 11 fours and two sixes in a 210-ball innings as Central Punjab slipped from 159 for two to 253 all-out against Southern Punjab.

Ali Zaryab (38) and Irfan Khan Niazi (34) were the other two batsmen who batted with some confidence and authority.

Veteran spinner Zulfiqar Babar spearheaded Southern Punjab’s fightback with figures of 36-6-103-5. He received good support from Agha Salman Ali, who claimed three wickets for 45 runs.

Southern Punjab will resume their first innings on Sunday at four for no loss.

Scores in brief:

Northern v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi

Northern 282-8, 83 overs (Faizan Riaz 156 not out, Jamal Anwar 41, Umair Khan 31; Khalid Usman 5-70) v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 26-0, 5 overs

Central Punjab v Southern Punjab, Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad

Central Punjab 253 all out, 83 overs (Mohammad Akhlaq 135, Ali Zaryab 38, Irfan Khan Niazi 34; Zulfiqar Babar 5-103, Salman Ali Agha 3-45) v Southern Punjab 4-0, 4.3 overs

Sindh v Balochistan, NBP Sports Complex, Karachi

Balochistan 183 all out, 70.1 overs (Awais Zia 71, Nazar Hussain 21 not out, Ramiz Raja Jnr 20; Hassan Khan 4-34, Danish Aziz 2-40) v Sindh 55-2, 17 overs (Ramiz Raja Jnr 23 not out)