Shakeel ur Rehman, Peshawar
Pakistan Television’s Mohammad Shahzad produced a breathtaking display of aggressive batting on the opening day of the third round of the President’s Trophy Grade-I, smashing 114 off just 62 balls, while Markhors IT Solutions’ Atiq-ur-Rehman continued his impressive run of form with an unbeaten century.
Matches were played in Islamabad, Peshawar and Abbottabad. Pakistan Test captain Babar Azam made his return to first-class cricket, representing OGDCL in Abbottabad. He fielded for 60 overs at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium.
At the Imran Khan Cricket Stadium in Peshawar, Markhors IT Solutions reached 258 for three in 79 overs against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL).
Right-handed batter Atiq-ur-Rehman remained unbeaten on 136 off 197 balls, hitting 17 fours. He followed up his 142 in the previous round with another impressive century, completing the third first-class hundred of his career.
Markhors were struggling at 40 for three after SNGPL’s Naseem Shah, Mohammad Imran and Mohammad Azab claimed the early wickets. Naseem dismissed Hasnain Nadeem, Mohammad Imran removed the dangerous Farooq, while Mohammad Azab accounted for Salman Khan Junior.
Atiq-ur-Rehman was then joined by Syed Awaad Naqvi, and the pair completely turned the innings around. Awaad scored an unbeaten 65 off 225 balls, and the duo put together an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 218 runs.
The match is being supervised by Abdul Muqeet and Imran Javed, with Nadeem Akhtar and Noor Mohammad serving as scorers.
At the Diamond Cricket Ground in Islamabad, Pakistan Television posted 285 for seven in 58 overs against Kingsmen Academy before bad light brought an early end to play.
Mohammad Shahzad smashed 114 off just 62 balls, including 12 fours and eight sixes, to register the sixth first-class century of his career.
Shahzad came to the crease when PTV were struggling at 34 for three in 15.1 overs. He counter-attacked brilliantly and added 143 runs with Mohammad Taha, who contributed 43.
Left-arm fast bowler Zia-ul-Haq eventually dismissed Shahzad in the 32nd over to give Kingsmen a crucial breakthrough.
Sharon Siraj also played a responsible innings, remaining unbeaten on 53 off 85 balls, with eight fours and two sixes.
Mohammad Elias took three wickets for Kingsmen Academy, while Shoaib Afridi claimed two.
At the National Ground in Islamabad, Ghani finished the first day on 263 for six in 72 overs against State Bank of Pakistan.
Mirza Tahir Baig scored 67, Sharjeel Khan made 56, while Ali Razaq remained unbeaten on 62.
State Bank had reduced Ghani to 149 for five, but Ali Razaq and Haseebullah resisted strongly to rebuild the innings. Ali Razaq completed his fifth first-class half-century and will resume the innings alongside Mohammad Ramiz Junior on the second day.
At the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, KRL recovered from a difficult start to finish the opening day in a more stable position against OGDCL.
KRL openers Abdul Wahid Faseeh and Shahzaib Khan put together 52 runs for the first wicket. Faseeh scored 36, while Shahzaib contributed 27.
OGDCL then struck five times to reduce KRL to 96, tightening their grip on the match. Mohammad Hasnain dismissed Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Faiq.
Test all-rounder Razaullah, who made his Test debut against England in the Birmingham Test, claimed the important wicket of Imran Rafiq for 11. Rafiq had scored centuries in each of the previous two rounds. Razaullah finished the day with figures of one for 52 from 14 overs.
Mohammad Hamad Khan and Mohammad Salman also took a wicket each for OGDCL.
KRL closed the day on 173 for five, with Sarmad Bhatti unbeaten on 48 and wicketkeeper-batter Asim Ali Nasir on 12. The pair added an unbroken 54 for the sixth wicket to prevent further damage.
KRL were again without the services of Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who is still recovering from a lower-back injury sustained while attempting to save a catch over the boundary during the opening round.
