KARACHI:Seventeen wickets fell on the opening day of the fourth round match of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy for Second XI teams between Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa here at KCCA Stadium.
Bowlers dominated the first day of the match. After being put into bat, Central Punjab were bowled out for 138 in 54.1 overs. Bilawal Iqbal remained unbeaten on 43 from 60 balls that included three fours and two sixes.
For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mohammad Wasim Jr grabbed three wickets for 28, while Asad Afridi, Asif Afridi and Irfanullah Shah took two wickets apiece.
In reply, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in their first innings were 100 for seven when stumps were drawn. Mohammad Haris top-scored with 34 from 40 balls, hitting six fours.
Kamran Afzal was the pick of the bowlers for Central Punjab, taking five wickets for 34 runs.
Northern’s Umar Waheed’s decision to bat first backfired as Northern were bundled out for 169 in 64.1 overs here at TMC Ground. Kashif Iqbal coming to bat at number five top-scored with 49 from 111 balls. Other notable performance came from Zaid Alam who scored a 72-ball 31, which included two boundaries.
For Balochistan, Mohammad Talha took four wickets for 17 runs in 6.1 overs. Jalat Khan and Hayatullah chipped in with three and two wickets, respectively.
In return, at stumps, Balochistan were 134 for three in 29 overs, courtesy unbeaten knock of 63 from Awais Zia. Awais’ 68-ball innings included eight fours and two sixes. He knitted a 67-run second-wicket partnership with Azeem Ghumman (31 off 45 balls, two fours and a six).
For Northern, left-arm spinner Farhan Shafiq took two wickets for 32 runs.
Meanwhile, a five-wicket haul from Sindh’s Shahnawaz bowled out Southern Punjab for 126 at State Bank Stadium. Batting first, Southern Punjab lost wickets at regular intervals and were eventually dismissed on the last ball of the 59th over. Mukhtar Ahmed top-scored with a 91-ball 35, hitting five fours. Waqar Hussain contributed 30 from 49 balls.
For Sindh, right-arm fast Shahnawaz took five wickets for 31 in 15 overs. Abrar Ahmed with his leg-spin bowling grabbed three wickets for 34.
At stumps, Sindh in their first innings were 52 for one in 27 overs. Shehzar Mohammad (27 off 88 balls) and Saad Ali (6 off 25 balls) will resume their innings.