KARACHI: United Bank Limited (UBL) and Habib Bank Limited (HBL) were in for rude shocks on Sunday as their respective rivals had them on the run at the start of the round four fixtures in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship.

Group ‘B’ leaders UBL, who had won all three previous matches by innings, were under the pump at 99-5 after their opening bowlers Mir Hamza (5-26) and Sohail Khan (4-45) sent packing Rawalpindi for 136 all out at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.

Winning the toss was one big advantage for the returning UBL skipper Shan Masood as Rawalpindi’s innings lasted just 41.1 overs with Rameez Alam alone contributing a 90-ball 57.

UBL’s hopes of a substantial first-innings total now rest with Saad Ali, who is batting on 42 after early departure of Shan (15).

HBL also found themselves in shambles when the struggling Karachi Whites bundled them out for 137 after opting to bowl first at the NBP Sports Complex.

Barring Ammad Butt, who flayed 63 off 78 balls, the rest caved in as ex-Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Sami led the rout with 4-40 in 15 overs.

Karachi Whites, coming into this game on the back of three consecutive defeats, were already in front at 145-3, thanks to an ongoing partnership of 72 between Ahmed Iqbal (57) and long-forgotten Test right-hander Faisal Iqbal (31) after Khurram Manzoor had been cleaned up first ball by HBL skipper Umar Gul.

Asif Ali engineered Fata’s great revival from 85-5 to 281 all out by making 102 (off 197 balls, 12 fours and one six) against Pakistan Television (PTV) at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. Sohail Akhtar made an unbeaten 41 while adding 89 priceless runs with Asif for the ninth wicket.

Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) reached 233-6 after Usman Salahuddin, who was in the Pakistan squad during the recent Test series against Sri Lanka, returned to lead Lahore Whites and elected to field first at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Former Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who turned 40 on Saturday, led by example as he claimed 3-27 in 15 overs to have Group ‘A’ leaders Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) , who had won the toss, in trouble at 97-4 after Faisalabad had mustered 153 all out at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.

Kashif Bhatti triggered Faisalabad’s batting collapse with six wickets for 52 runs in 25 overs.

Bowlers were also on top at the LCCA Ground in Lahore where Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) limped to 122-7 after bowling out Lahore Blues for 108 after the latter chose to bat first. Bilawal Bhatti wrecked the regional side’s innings with five for 35 in 13 overs.

Holders Wapda faced a torrid day at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium when they were reduced to 54-4 after Peshawar had made 235 in their first innings after Salman Butt had decided to field first.

Peshawar made a bright start with Sahibzada Farhan (48) and Ashfaq Ahmed (64) putting on 74 for the first wicket but four batsmen departed while the total remained 75.

It was then left to Gohar Ali (76 off 69 balls, 11 fours and one six) to spearhead Peshawar’s revival.

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) batted solidly to collect 276-4 at the Diamond Club Ground after winning the toss against hosts Islamabad.

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

Fourth round:

Group ‘A’:

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: FAISALABAD 153 in 57 overs (Ibtisam Sheikh 45, Asif Ali 32, Ahmed Safi 26; Kashif Bhatti 6-52, Aamir Yamin 2-13, Usama Mir 2-42); SSGC 97-4 in 33 overs (Umar Amin 35 not out; Saeed Ajmal 3-27).

At LCCA Ground, Lahore: Lahore Blues 108 in 38.5 overs (Waqas Saleem 36, Salman Ali 27; Bilawal Bhatti 5-35, Iftikhar Ahmed 2-7, Yasir Shah 2-30); SNGPL 122-7 in 42 overs (Misbah-ul-Haq 24; Bilawal Iqbal 2-19).

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: NBP 276-4 in 90 overs (Kamran Ghulam 75 not out, Haris Ali Khan 60, Rameez Raja 46, Naved Sarwar 40 not out) vs ISLAMABAD.

At Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Abbottabad: PESHAWAR 235 in 56 overs (Gohar Ali 76, Ashfaq Ahmed 64, Sahibzada Farhan 48; Mohammad Ali Bhutta 4-69, Mohammad Asif 3-50, Zulfiqar Babar 2-55); WAPDA 54-4 in 21 overs (Kamran Akmal 23 not out; Taj Wali 3-21).

Group ‘B’:

At NBP Sports Complex, Karachi: HBL 137 in 40 overs (Ammad Butt 63; Mohammad Sami 4-40, Faraz Ali 2-13, Anwar Ali 2-21, Abdullah Mukaddam 2-54); KARACHI WHITES 145-3 in 39 overs (Ahmed Iqbal 57 not out, Danish Aziz 37, Faisal Iqbal 31 not out).

At Gaddafi Stadium Lahore: KRL 233-6 in 86 overs (Sardar Hasan Raza 63, Jaahid Ali 47, Usman Arshad 42 not out; Waqas Ahmed 2-51) vs LAHORE WHITES.

At Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot: FATA 281 in 86 overs (Asif Ali 102, Sohail Akhtar 41, Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti 40, Mukhtar Ahmed 39; Tabish Khan 3067, Hasan Mohsin 2-42, Rizwan Akbar 2-66); PTV 0-0 in 0.1 over.

At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: RAWALPINDI 136 in 41.1 overs (Rameez Alam 57; Mir Hamza 5-26, Sohail Khan 4-45); UBL 99-5 in 31 overs (Saad Ali 42 not out, Mohammad Nawaz 29; Ataullah 2-28, Nazar Hussain 2-31).

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2017