KARACHI: Out-of-favour Pakistan seamer Umar Gul sent an emphatic reminder to the national selectors on Monday with a devastating seven-wicket burst against Lahore Whites as Habib Bank Limited (HBL) seize early initiative in the crucial fourth-round Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship fixture in Lahore.

The 31-year-old, who hasn’t figured at the international level since the tour of Bangladesh last April, ran through the Lahore batting line-up to claim seven wickets for 32 runs in 11.1 overs to send the regional side packing for a measly first-innings total of 89 at the LCCA Ground.

After HBL skipper Imran Farhat had won the toss, Lahore Whites had an answer against Umar who grabbed six wickets in his opening spell with five of his hapless victims — Mukhtar Ahmed, Anas Mahmood, Usman Salahuddin, Mohammad Waheed and Jahanzeb Abdullah — failing to open their account.

Former Pakistan Under-19 captain Sami Aslam was the ninth out for a battling 28 in 122 minutes (73 balls, three fours) when he was caught in the slips off Umar. Sami and Asif Raza (41 off 39 balls, five boundaries) were the only batsmen to reach double figures as the two added 57 after Lahore were reeling at 14-6.

Altaf Ahmed provided Umar good support with two for 12.

Pakistan T20 skipper Shahid Afridi, in a rare first-class appearance since November last year, was dismissed for a four-ball 6 when he was cleaned up by paceman Saif-ur-Rehman in the second over of the HBL innings.

Test batsman Asad Shafiq then marked his return to the side after the England series with 53 (90 balls, six fours) as and Aftab Khan (72 not out, 99 balls, 12 fours) put on 118 for the fourth wicket as HBL reached 184-4 at stumps.

Promising spinner Sohaib Khan picked his maiden five-for as Khan Research Laboratories recovered from a precarious 76-5 to post 296 all out after Karachi Whites chose to field first at the National Stadium.

Let-arm paceman Ghulam Mudassar, who looks around 20-21 of age but is shown as 16 in official documents, produced a dream spell on either side of lunch to take three wickets in only his second first-class match to leave KRL in serious trouble.

Mudassar’s dismissal of Mohammad Yasin, one of four left-handers, was a brilliant piece of cricket as the youngster produced a sharp inswinging delivery to rattle the stumps on the stroke of lunch.

But Luqman Butt (83 off 116 balls, 14 fours and one six) and Nayyar Abbas (85 off 128, 12 fours and one six) rescued KRL by adding 159 before Sohaib claimed all the last five wickets to fall.

Sohaib finished with five for 74 in 19.2 overs and Mudassar three for 91 in 21 overs, while veteran KRL skipper Saeed Anwar Jr had a forgetful 200th appearance in first-class cricket when he was caught behind off Adeel Malik for a third-ball duck.

Karachi Whites survived five overs to reach 18 without loss.

Pool ‘B’ leaders National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) thrived on an unbeaten 194-run partnership between the in-form pair of Fawad Alam (88 off 153 balls, 11 fours) and Akbar-ur-Rehman (109 off 112, 18 fours) to amass 342-4 after Rawalpindi elected to field first upon winning the toss at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.

After Nasir Jamshed (35) and Mohammad Nawaz (66) shared a first-wicket stand of 90, NBP lost three more wickets by the time the total had advanced to 148 before Fawad, fresh from his undefeated 224 against Karachi Whites, and Akbar put Rawalpindi on the defensive.

Upcoming Peshawar paceman Taj Wali grabbed four wickets in as many deliveries as Port Qasim Authority (PQA) were bundled out for a paltry 107 in the Pool ‘A’ match at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar.

The 24-year-old left-armer, who attended the fast-bowling camp conducted by Wasim Akram in August, dismissed Khurram Manzoor (23), Faraz Ali, PQA skipper Khalid Latif and Daniyal Ahsan off consecutive balls in his ninth over after PQA, who were inserted into bat, had reached 50-0.

Taj ended up taking five for 30 with fellow left-arm seamer Nasir Ahmed taking 4-31.

By close of play, Peshawar had collected 176-2 thanked to Israrullah who made 80, while dominating the second-wicket stand of 117 with Mohammad Wasif Nawaz (42 not out).

United Bank Limited (UBL), who head Pool ‘B’, were restricted to a modest first-innings tally of 259 after they were asked to bat first by Hyderabad skipper Azeem Ghumman at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad, who replied with 17-0.

An unbroken partnership of 221 between stand-in skipper Umar Amin and Asif Zakir propelled Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) to 271-3 at the Diamond Club Ground after Islamabad, who opted to bowl first, made early inroads to leave the departmental outfit in strife at 50-3.

Umar, the left-handed Pakistan discard, scored 133 off 204 balls with the aid of 19 boundaries while Asif has so far struck 15 fours in scoring exactly 100 from 198 deliveries.

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) made a decent recovery from being 185-6 to post 345-7 after they were put in by Lahore Blues at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Troubled Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal scored 54 (80 balls, seven fours) while older sibling and discarded Test wicket-keeper Adnan Akmal was batting on 98 (124 balls, 14 boundaries). Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, playing his first match of the home season hit six fours in making a 42-ball 30.

Close of play scores on Monday (day one of four):

Pool ‘A’:

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: UNITED BANK LIMITED 259 in 74.5 overs (Sharjeel Khan 73, Umair Khan 54, Gulraiz Sadaf 50, Rumman Raees Khan 25 not out; Sajjad Hussain 3-62, Nasir Awais 3-89, Hazrat Shah 2-36); HYDERABAD 17-0 in 9 overs.

At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: SUI NORTHERN GAS PIPELINES LIMITED 345-7 in 86 overs (Adnan Akmal 98 not out, Umar Akmal 54, Bilawal Bhatti 39 not out, Taufiq Umar 36, Naeemuddin 33, Misbah-ul-Haq 30, Imran Khalid 27; Aftab Azwar 3-85, Agha Salman 2-54) vs LAHORE BLUES.

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: SUI SOUTHERN GAS COMPANY 271-3 in 78.2 overs (Umar Amin 133 not out, Asif Zakir 100 not out, Wajid Ali 22; Hasan Ali 2-51) vs ISLAMABAD.

At Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar: PORT QASIM AUTHORITY 107 in 39.5 overs (Kamran Younis 32, Azam Hussain 31, Khurram Manzoor 23; Taj Wali 5-30, Nasir Ahmed 4-52); PESHAWAR 167-2 in 36 overs (Israrullah 80, Mohammad Wasif Nawaz 42 not out, Ashfaq Ahmed 41; Azam Hussain 2-20).

Pool ‘B’:

At National Stadium, Karachi: KHAN RESEARCH LABORATORIES 296 in 77.2 overs (Nayyar Abbas 85, Luqman Butt 83, Mohammad Yasin 28, Zain Abbas 20; Sohaib Khan 5-74, Ghulam Mudassar 3-91); KARACHI WHITES 18-0 in 5 overs.

At LCCA Ground, Lahore: LAHORE WHITES 89 in 30.1 overs (Asif Raza 41, Sami Aslam 28; Umar Gul 7-32, Altaf Ahmed 2-12); HABIB BANK LIMITED 184-4 in 41 overs (Aftab Khan 72 not out, Asad Shafiq 53, Fakhar Zaman 31; Saif-ur-Rehman 2-43, Asif Raza 2-65).

At Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot: WAPDA 350-7 in 84 overs (Aamir Sajjad 161 not out, Adnan Raees 80, Zulfiqar Babar 39 not out, Zahid Mansoor 24; Mohammad Irfan 3-122, Ibrahim Gul 2-54) vs FEDERALLY ADMINISTERED TRIBAL AREAS.

At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: NATIONAL BANK OF PAKISTAN 342-4 in 79.5 overs (Akbar-ur-Rehman 109 not out, Fawad Alam 88 not out, Mohammad Nawaz 66, Nasir Jamshed 35; Yasir Arafat 2-48, Abid Hussain 2-73) vs RAWALPINDI.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2015