KARACHI: Bowlers had a field day on Sunday at the start of the Silver League’s knockout round in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship.

Fancied Habib Bank were in a rude shock when Hyderabad Hawks skittled them out for a measly 128 after being put into bat in their quarter-final clash at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium in Mirpur (Azad Jammu Kashmir).

All-rounder Mir Ali Talpur ripped through the top-order with three quick wickets — skipper Imran Farhat (0), Aftab Khan 96) and Humayun Farhat (0) — before is new-ball partner sent back Fakhar Zaman (10 and the English-born Bilal Shafayat (0) to leave Habib Bank in tatters at 10-5.

Rameez Aziz survived for 189 minutes to emerge as the top scorer with a 117-ball 49 (six boundaries) until he was last man to be dismissed. Discarded Test spinner Abdur Rehman hit 28 (45 balls, four fours) as he and Rameez put on 45 for the seventh wicket in comfortably the best partnership of the innings.

Ali ended with five for 39 in 15 overs and Naeem bagged three wickets for 25 runs in 16.1 overs.

The Hawks then saw off Umar Gul (0-19 in seven overs) without any mishap to complete a great day for the regional team at 95-2.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) were also in heaps of trouble against Bahawalpur Stags at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. After winning the toss and bowling out their opponents for 137 inside 38 overs, the national carrier slumped to 92-7 in reply.

Left-arm seamer Ansar Javed, 34, reached 100 first-class wickets by sending back PIA opener Shahzar Mohammad, caught behind for five, to make the initial breakthrough. He has so far claimed four for 21 in 15 overs with fellow paceman Zahir Siddiqui dismissing discarded Test batsman Faisal Iqbal (19) and Tahir Khan (3).

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have a fight on their hands after being reduced to 35-4 by Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.

Kaleem Sana Rehman, a 20-year-old left-armer, bowled with venom with the new ball to grab three wickets for 17 runs in eight overs.

Earlier, KRL managed to collect a fighting first-innings total of 176 after they were put into bat. The left-arm combination of paceman Rizwan Haider and spinner Zafar Gohar claimed eight wickets between them with Rizwan taking 4-35 in 18 overs and young Zafar 4-30 in 10.4.

Pakistan Television (PTV) were 14-1 after fine knocks from captain Usman Tariq (64 off 161 balls, eight boundaries), Mohammad Waqas (51 off 77, seven fours) and veteran all-rounder Tariq Haroon (50 off 61, six fours) helped Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) make 266 after they opted to bat first upon winning the toss at the National Cricket Ground in Islamabad.

Waqar Ahmed, yet another left-arm paceman, captured five wickets for 53 runs in 15 overs.

Close of play scores on Sunday (day one of four):
Quarter-finals:

At Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot: BAHAWALPUR STAGS 137 in 38.5 overs (Moinuddin 49, Adeel Basit 23; Kamran Sajid 4-14, Najaf Shah 3-61, Hazrat Shah 2-25); PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES 92-7 in 39 overs (Fahad Iqbal 27; Ansar Javed 4-21, Zahir Siddiqui 2-36).

At Mirpur Cricket Stadium, Mirpur: HABIB BANK LIMITED 128 in 43.1 overs (Rameez Aziz 49, Abdur Rehman 28; Mir Ali Talpur 5-39, Naeem-ur-Rehman 3-25); HYDERABAD HAWKS 95-2 in 24 overs (Zeeshan Gul 27 not out, Darya Khan 24, Azeem Ghumman 22 not out; Abdur Rehman 1-21, Kamran Hussain 1-23).

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: KHAN RESEARCH LABORATORIES 176 in 59.4 overs (Ali Khan 36, Nauman Ali 36, Luqman Butt 28, Usman Arshad 25, Saeed Anwar Jr 23; Zafar Gohar 4-30, Rizwan Haider 4-35, Zahoor Khan 2-67); STATE BANK OF PAKISTAN 35-4 in 19 overs (Usman Salahuddin 10 not out; Kaleem Sana 3-17, Nauman Ali 1-5).

At National Cricket Ground, Islamabad: SUI SOUTHERN GAS COMPANY 266 in 72.3 overs (Usman Tariq 64, Mohammad Waqas 51, Tariq Haroon 50, Mohammad Irfan 28 not out, Atif Maqbool 27; Waqar Ahmed 5-53, Usman Ashraf 3-52); PAKISTAN TELEVISION 14-1 in 5.4 overs (Raheel Majeed 8 not out; Tabish Khan 1-0).

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2014