KARACHI: Former Pakistan seamer Mohammad Asif marked his return to first-class action after a 10-month hiatus in spectacular fashion on Monday while as many as 24 wickets fell on day one of the third-round Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship in Islamabad.

Asif, who turns 35 in two months, dominated the first session of play at the Diamond Club Ground where hosts Islamabad were sent packing for 81 after opting to bat first against Wapda.

The wily right-armer, playing his first longer version match since last December’s championship final in Karachi, bagged five wickets for 28 runs while discarded Test spinner Zulfiqar Babar took 3-15.

But pacemen Shehzad Azam Rana (5-40) and Hamza Nadeem (4-35) led Islamabad’s fightback as the defending champions managed only 116 in their first innings while securing a modest 25-run advantage.

However, Wapda then regained initiative by reducing Islamabad to 52-4 in the second innings by stumps with Asif adding two to is day’s haul.

Habib Bank Limited (HBL) sorely missed their Pakistan stars when they were restricted to 194 after the visitors’ stand-in skipper Umar Gul chose to bat first against Lahore Whites at the LCCA Ground.

Fielding a lineup missing regular captain Ahmed Shehzad, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Fahim Ashraf and Junaid Khan, HBL struggled for survival against the spin of left-armer Mohammad Irfan (4-49) and the pace of right-armer Umaid Asif (3-46).

Left-arm paceman Usman Khan Shinwari celebrated his induction in the Pakistan ODI squad in place of the injured Mohammad Amir by getting rid of both openers, Anas Mahmood and Rizwan Hussain, as the regional team ended the day at 19-2.

Pakistan’s most successful Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq returned to competitive cricket since retiring from the international arena earlier this year by making 21 as Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNPL) reached 233-9 against Faisalabad after his former team-mate Saeed Ajmal had opted to bowl at the Iqbal Stadium.

Saad Nasim led from the front to score 123 (off 138 balls, 14 fours and one six) as Lahore Blues collected a commendable 291 after Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) won the toss at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Pace-bowling all-rounder Aamir Yamin claimed six wickets for 44 runs.

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) had advanced to 70-1 after paceman Altaf Ahmed captured six wickets for 60 runs as Peshawar, put into bat, posted 264 all out in their first innings at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium.

Karachi Whites were in tatters at 6-2 after their decision to bowl first saw Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) make 244 at the UBL Sports Complex.

United Bank Limited (UBL) piled up 294-7 after Fata inserted them into bat at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot.

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

Third round:

Group ‘A’:

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: SNGPL 233-9 in 90.4 overs (Ali Waqas 58, Bilawal Bhatti 39 not out, Mohammad Rizwan 38, Misbah-ul-Haq 21; Ahmed Safi 4-60, Asad Raza 3-50, Ibtisam Sheikh 2-39) vs FAISALABAD.

At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: LAHORE BLUES 291 in 88 overs (Saad Nasim 123, Irfan Haider 50, Salman Ali Agha 30, Zain-ul-Hasnain 29; Aamir Yamin 6-44, Zia-ul-Haq 2-55); vs SSGC.

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: ISLAMABAD 81 in 32.1 overs (Fahad Iqbal 27, Sarmad Bhatti 25; Mohammad Asif 5-28, Zulfiqar Babar 3-15, Mohammad Ali Bhutta 2-27) and 52-4 in 17.3 overs (Mohammad Asif 2-15); WAPDA 116 in 27 overs (Aamir Sajjad 43; Shehzad Azam Rana 5-40, Hamza Nadeem 4-35).

At Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Abbottabad: PESHAWAR 264 in 63.2 overs (Jamaluddin 47, M. Imran Khan 32, Ubaidullah 29, Ashfaq Ahmed 28, Nasir Awais 26, Gohar Ali 25; Altaf Ahmed 6-57, Mohammad Ismail 2-68); NBP 70-1 in 16 overs (Rameez Raja 43 not out, Ali Asad 26 not out).

Group ‘B’:

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: KRL 244 in 80.2 overs (Saeed Anwar Jr 74, Jaahid Ali 36, Shoaib Ahmed Minhas 28; Hassaan Khan 3-41, Abdullah Muqaddam 3-58, Raza-ul-Hasan 3-61); KARACHI WHITES 6-2 in 7 overs (Ali Shafiq 2-2).

At LCCA Ground, Lahore: HBL 194 in 67.3 overs (Azeem Ghumman 37, Abdur Rehman 35, Ramiz Aziz 28; Mohammad Irfan 4-49, Umaid Asif 3-46, Mohammad Aftab 2-41); LAHORE WHITES 19-2 in 11 overs (Usman Khan Shinwari 2-7).

At Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot: UBL 294-7 in 89 overs (Saad Ali 67, Gulraiz Sadaf 47 not out, Akbar-ur-Rehman 42, Hammad Azam 42, Mohammad Nawaz 39, Umar Siddique 34; Hafeez-ur-Rehman 5-68) vs FATA.

At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: RAWALPINDI 251 in 68.2 overs (Ataullah 53 not out, Sarmad Hameed 52, Naved Malik 46, Umair Masood 45; Tabish Khan 4-59, Hasan Mohsin 3-49, Saud Shakeel 2-7) vs PTV 42-1 in 9.2 overs.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2017