KARACHI: It was a day of mixed fortunes at the start of the new first-class season in the starless Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship across the country on Saturday.

With the national stars preparing for a hectic period of international assignments, the fringe players along with the Pakistan discards will be desperate to make their presence felt while hoping the national selectors take serious notice of them as the season gains momentum.

A pair of discards was on the job on day one as Umar Amin and Sami Aslam both reached triple figures to enable Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) make a solid start against Rawalpindi at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.

The left-handed duo added 258 for the second wicket before opener Sami was dismissed on the verge of stumps for exactly 100 (off 186 balls, 13 fours) but Umar was still going strong on 146 (200 balls, 21 boundaries) as SSGCL reached 268-2.

Out-of-favour Pakistan seamer Umar Gul struck thrice at the Diamond Club Ground in the federal capital to leave Islamabad in real strife at 12-4 before Pakistan Under-19 wicket-keeper Rohail Nazir, who will turn 17 on Oct 10, marked his entry into first-class cricket with a dazzling 130 (194 balls, 15 fours and one six) as the regional outfit closed the day at a healthy 329-9.

Afaq Raheem scored 103 (238 balls, 12 fours) as Fata frustrated NBP by reaching 217-3 at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium in Abbottabad.

ZTBL had dramatic first day on their return to the first-class arena at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad where they first mustered a meagre tally of 121 all out in their first innings and then reduced Lahore Blues to 63-6 by close of play.Multan’s return to first-class action was less histrionic when PTV collected 233-6 at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan.

Defending champions SNGPL were 215-4 against Lahore Whites at the LCCA Ground in Lahore, while last season’s runners-up Wapda managed 246 all out before Karachi Whites reached 77-1 at the National Stadium here.

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

Pool ‘A’:

At LCCA Ground, Lahore: SNGPL 215-4 in 93 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 69, Naeemuddin 56, Asad Shafiq 22; Mohammad Irfan 2-78) vs LAHORE WHITES.

At KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi: PESHAWAR 182-5 in 56 overs (Akbar Badshah 60 not out, Israrullah 54; Nauman Ali 2-37) vs KRL.

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: ISLAMABAD 329-9 in 84.5 overs (Rohail Nazir 130, Sarmad Bhatti 59, Shehzad Azam Rana 57 not out, Zohaib Ahmed 45; Umar Gul 3-34, Abdur Rehman 3-83) vs HBL.

At Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Abbottabad: FATA 217-3 in 58 overs (Afaq Raheem 103, Nisar Afridi 47; Atif Jabbar 2-35) vs NBP.

Pool ‘B’:

At National Stadium, Karachi: WAPDA 245 in 63.2 overs (Adnan Raees 53, Khalid Usman 51, Kamran Akmal 32; Adeel Malik 4-88, Hassaan Khan 2-11, Mohammad Umar 2-42) vs KARACHI WHITES 77-1 in 23 overs (Kashif Iqbal 36, Khurram Manzoor 29 not out).

At Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan: PTV 233-6 in 90 overs (Umair Khan 68, Saud Shakeel 42, Mohammad Yasin 41; Mohammad Irfan 2-28) vs MULTAN.

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: ZTBL 121 in 46.4 overs (Aaqib Shah 55 not out, Munir-re-Rehman Tanzil 41; Aizaz Cheema 4-21, Mohammad Umar 3-38, Bilawal Iqbal 2-29); LAHORE BLUES 63-6 in 29 overs (Mohammad Ali 3-23).

At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: SSGCL 268-2 in 66 overs (Umar Amin 146 not out, Sami Aslam 100) vs RAWALPINDI.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2018