KARACHI, Dec 7: National champions PIA overpowered a spirited Defence Housing Authority (DHA) side to register an easy six-wicket victory in the opening round of the Patron’s Cup one-day tournament at the UBL Sports Complex on Sunday.

Chasing a somewhat challenging target after DHA skipper Wasim Naeem had made a highly entertaining century — a splendid 111 off 107 balls, which was the cornerstone of his team’s total of 246 for eight — after PIA had opted to bowl first at the toss.

However, Kamran Sajid, the former Pakistan under-19 opener, ensured that PIA start the new season on a winning note by sharing a stand of 107 in 121 balls with the evergreen Ghulam Ali, who helped himself to 53 off 63 deliveries with eight boundaries.

The left-hander was unlucky not to reach three figures when he fell for 90 immediately after having lifted slow left-armer Azam Hussain over wide long-on for a six. The ball, in fact, made direct contact with the tin scoreboard with a bang.

Kamran, who also slammed seven fours in his 114-ball knock, was also involved in another productive partnership of 68 with Bazid Khan for the third wicket.

Bazid reached a fine 59-ball 50 with the match-winning boundary, his third, with the scores levelled on the first ball of the penultimate over of the game.

But the highlight of the day was the batting of the diminutive Wasim Naeem against a decent bowling attack that lacked the services of an indisposed Saqlain Mushtaq. The ace Pakistan off-spinner is likely to play in the four-day Patron’s Trophy tie from Monday.

Wasim batted with great composure both against pace and spin. His innings, spiced with 10 fours and three sixes, ended in the 45th over when he sliced a catch down Nadeem Khan’s throat at third man.

Wicket-keeper Aamir Iqbal, who led DHA in the qualifying round last month, contributed 45, stroking four boundaries while facing 62 balls. Together with his captain, Aamir shared a fifth-wicket stand of 110 in 108 balls.

Fazle Akbar, out of favour with the national selectors, produced a fiery opening spell that fetched the tall fast bowler the scalps of Asif Zakir (11) and Mohammad Bilal (4). He also accounted for the left-handed Sharjeel Ashraf for four to finish with three for 40.

Aizaz bin Ilyas, the medium-pacer, picked three wickets but gave away 44 runs in eight overs. Left-armer Najaf Shah, who shared the new ball with Fazle, chipped in with one for 36 in 10 overs as did PIA stand-in skipper Asif Mujtaba.

Scoreboard

DHA: