Shakeel ur Rehman:
Mohammad Rizwan registered an unbeaten double century on day two of the opening round of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Gold tournament to put Peshawar Blues in driving seat against Faisalabad at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
The second day of the first round saw action unfold across Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Abbottabad with Karachi Blues and Sialkot Blues even after two days of action, while FATA got the edge over Lahore Whites and Multan wrestled back against Islamabad after a batting collapse.
At the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Peshawar Blues resumed from overnight score of 306-3 in 76 overs and declared on 503-4 in 115.2 with Rizwan scoring 200 not out off 252 balls hitting 35 fours and one six.
Overnight centurion Najab Khan fell for 133, while wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris remained unbeaten for a breezy 70 off 69 balls striking nine fours and two sixes. In reply, Faisalabad lost two wickets for 118 runs in the 35.2 overs they faced by close of play.
Faisalabad’s both opening batters Faham-ul-Haq (31, 57b, 5x4s) and Sameer Saqib (25, 74b, 4x4s) were pinned leg-before by Mohammad Adnan, while Asim Ali Nasir (35 not out, 49b, 5x4s) and Atiq-ur-Rehman (24 not out, 33b, 4x4s) will resume tomorrow.
At the Diamond Cricket Ground, FATA were bowled out for 362 in 84.1 overs after resuming from overnight score of 311 for six with debutant Fawad Arshad scoring 115 off 190 balls with the help of 17 fours. For Lahore Whites, teenage pacer Hammad Aziz picked returned impressive figures of 21-3-97-6.
Lahore Whites then conceded a first innings deficit of 128 runs as they were bowled out for 234 in 49.2 overs with opener Ali Zaryab (51, 76b, 6x4s) and skipper Aamir Jamal (74, 63b, 12x4s, 2x6s) scoring half-centuries. FATA’s skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi picked up three wickets, while Afaq Afridi also dismissed as many batters including the prized scalp of Babar Azam for 28.
At close of Play, FATA were 22-1 in eight over with Lahore Whites’ captain Aamir claiming the only wicket to fall.
At Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, Multan were 249-7 at close of play replying to Islamabad’s first innings total of 215 all out. Multan had begun the innings with commencement of day two and faced 70 overs, which included a 88-5 collapse before Imran Rafiq (93 not out, 173b, 12x4s) and Sharoon Siraj (82, 91b, 16x4s) saving the innings.
For Islamabad, Musa Khan bowled impressively and had figures of three for 31 in 15 overs.
At the National Ground in Islamabad, Karachi Blues were bowled out for 280 in 75.4 overs against Sialkot Blues, managing a slim 39-run first innings lead due to wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Ghazi Ghori’s 88 off 124 balls (14x4s). Pacer Athar Mehmood picked up three wickets for Sialkot, while he was helped by Hasan Ali and Hamza Nazar who dismissed two batters each.
Sialkot saw off the 2.4 overs late in the day scoring 13 runs without any loss.
