November 9, 2001	Friday	Shaba’an 22, 1422

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KARACHI, Nov 8: A typical gutsy century by former Test opener Shoaib Mohammad helped PIA reach a commanding 285 for one on the opening day of the Patron’s Trophy Grade-I fixture at UBL Sports Complex here Thursday.

The 40-year-old stalwart batted all day to score 147 while sharing an unfinished second wicket stand of 191 in 231 minutes with young Test right-hander Faisal Iqbal, who is batting on 80.

Shoaib’s 38th century in 211 first-class matches includes eight fours. The diminutive right-hander has so far faced 290 deliveries during his six-hour knock.

Faisal’s 193-ball innings contains five boundaries.

The only casualty in the innings was Ghulam Ali, who literally squandered a golden opportunity to make a big contribution. After making 41 off 114 balls with the help of five hits to the fence, Ghulam Ali offered an easy catch to Fahim Ahmed at mid-wicket off leg-spinner Mansoor Ahmed.

The opening stand between Ghulam Ali and Shoaib realized 94 in 130 minutes after PIA stand-in skipper Asif Mujtaba had no hesitation in batting first at the toss.

PIA, who need to win this game with maximum points to ensure they finish runners-up to National Bank, are bolstered by the presence of Test stars Yousuf Youhana and Saqlain Mushtaq.

The off-spinning wizard is playing his first game in almost two months, having returned from London a couple of days ago.

And given the sluggish nature of the pitch here, Saqlain is almost certain to prove a handful for the PWD batsmen, who fell easy prey to Saqlain’s great rival Arshad Khan (12 for 185) in the previous match against Allied Bank.