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KARACHI, Jan 8: Burly all-rounder Naseer Khan lifted the tempo somewhat with a sparkling 56 to help Rest of Balochistan recover in their first innings on a listless first day of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-I fixture against Karachi Blues at KCCA Stadium here Tuesday.
Naseer, who has so far faced 107 balls, struck four sixes and two fours while dominating the unbroken eighth wicket partnership of 74 in 129 minutes with wicket-keeper Sanaullah Khan (16) that helped Balochistan reach 205 for seven at stumps.
Naseer, who saved Balochistan from defeat against Sindh last week, reached 50 in only his second first-class appearance when he pulled off-spinner Haaris Ayaz over mid-wicket for a six.
The pair batted through the final session after Balochistan were in danger of being bundled out for a paltry total. After being asked to bat first, Balochistan slumped to 131 for seven on what appears to be a lifeless pitch.
Only skipper Naseem Khan of the earlier batsmen managed to make a respectable score. The left-hander hit 68 off 106 balls with seven fours and one six before he was seventh out.
REST OF BALOCHISTAN (1st Innings):
Ali Ahmed b Javed 9
Sabir Hussain lbw b Javed 0
Azizullah c Atiq b Adnan 17
Naseem Khan lbw b Javed 68
Mohtashim Ali lbw b Javed 12
Mian Nafees c Atiq b Rizwan 18
Mohtashim Rasheed b Rizwan 0
Naseer Khan not out 56
Sanaullah Khan not out 16
EXTRAS (B-2, LB-5, W-1) 8
PENALTY RUN 1
TOTAL (for seven wkts, 87 overs) 205
FALL OF WKTS: 1-3, 2-23, 3-41, 4-77, 5-130, 6-131, 7-131.
TO BAT: Waqas Chughtai, Faisal Irfan.
BOWLING (to-date): Rizwan Saeed 13-4-29-2; Mohammad Javed 19-7-28-4; Haaris Ayaz 29-8-66-0; Adnan Kaleem 17-3-64-1; Ali Mohammad Madni 9-4-13-0.
KARACHI BLUES: Asim Kamal, Mir Rashid, Zeeshan Pervez, Nomanullah, Farhan Adil, Atiq-uz-Zaman, Mohammad Javed, Rizwan Saeed, Haaris Ayaz, Adnan Kaleem, Ali Mohammad Madni.
UMPIRES: Asad Rauf and Athar Zaidi.
MATCH REFEREE: Mohinder Kumar.
