KARACHI: On a fluctuating day one of the Super Eight second round in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship, Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) overcame a jittery start to put Habib Bank Limited (HBL) on the back foot here on Tuesday.

At stumps, HBL were left in some bother at 85-3 after SSGCL recovered from 50-5 to a respectable 211 after skipper Umar Amin opted to bat on a decent pitch at the UBL Sports Complex.

The moisture underneath the surface made things quite tough for the batsmen and when lunch was taken with SSGCL struggling at 75-5, HBL were the happier side as young paceman Khurram Shahzad extracted enough movement to pick up four of the wickets upfront.

SNGPL, Wapda seize initiative

The afternoon period belonged largely to discarded Pakistan all-rounder Aamir Yamin and wicket-keeper Saifullah Khan Bangash who stitched together a priceless seven-wicket partnership of 96 in 92 minutes as the pitch eased out sufficiently.

Aamir steadied the ship with a defiant innings of 80 from 104 deliveries while striking 11 boundaries. Saifullah lent decent support as he struck six fours in making 48 off 75 balls.

Abdur Rehman, the seasoned slow left-armer, extended his good run at this venue with four wickets at the backend of the SSGCL innings to increase his haul in the Super Eight stage to 18 wickets following his dream figures of 14-120 against Karachi Whites last week when he also claimed his maiden hat-trick.

Khurram, however, stood out with brilliant figures of 5-57 from 14 overs with Rehman taking 4-40 in 13.2 overs.

HBL then endured an awkward period before stumps when they faced the likes of Mohammad Amir and Usman Khan Shinwari among the five bowlers in action. While Amir bowled nine overs well within himself an trapped Jamal Anwar leg-before-wicket, Shinwari looked distinctly sharp with his pace that fetched him the wicket of Mohammad Waqas.

The worrying sign for HBL head coach Saleem Jaffer was Umar Akmal who once again flattered to deceive after having crunched seven fours in a 24-ball 32. Left-arm spinner Kashif Bhatti had his man when the Pakistan discard played across the line in a bid to pinch a single but only saw his off stump peg back.

In the other Group-I fixture at the Southend Club, Peshawar recovered from 129-4 to collect a healthy 298-8 after Karachi Whites skipper Anwar Ali decided that bowling would be the best option.

Israrullah led the resurgence with resourceful contribution of 80 from 152 balls with the aid of a dozen boundaries, while captain Akbar Badshah was going strong on an undefeated 77 (off 159 balls, three fours and two sixes).

Former Pakistan speedster Mohammad Sami and slow left-armer Faraz Ahmed Khan snared three wickets each.

Holders Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and last season’s beaten finalists Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) were on top in the Group-I encounters.

Imran Khalid (4-28 in 12 overs) and Iftikhar Ahmed (3-38 in 11) were chief responsible for dismissing Lahore Blues for 122 after the regional side chose to bat first at the NBP Sports Complex.

Iftikhar, who slammed 77 off 122 balls (five boundaries) then shepherded the SNGPL’s innings after the champions nosedived to 19-3 with Ali Waqas and Khurram Shehzad both run out. The one-Test wonder and ex-Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq (45 off 99, two sixes and one fours) put on 98.

Hussain Talat (20) and Iftikhar were engaged in another useful stand of 40 as SNGPL reached stumps at 167-4.

Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) skipper Usman Arshad regretted his choice of batting at the toss when his team capitulated for just 110, which ironically was some sort of a recovery from the perils of 17-5. Nayyar Abbas scored a fighting 106-ball 42, while off-spinning all-rounder Zahid Mansoor took 4-37 after Wahab Riaz had claimed 2-15 upfront.

Wapda then lost two wickets early in the piece to left-arm paceman Sadaf Hussain before closing at 127-3 with Zahid, who had opened the innings, and Kamran Akmal adding 74 for their unbroken partnership with both men getting into the 40s.

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

Super Eight stage, second round:

Group-I:

At SBP Sports Complex, Karachi: KRL 110 in 44.4 overs (Nayyar Abbas 42, Shoaib Ahmed Minhas 27; Zahid Mansoor 4-37, Wahab Riaz 2-15, Khalid Usman 2-23); WAPDA 127-3 in 43 overs (Kamran Akmal 48 not out, Zahid Mansoor 45 not out, Salman Butt 28; Sadaf Hussain 2-25).

At NBP Sports Complex, Karachi: LAHORE BLUES 122 in 35 overs (Jahangir Mirza 38, Farhan Khan 23; Imran Khalid 4-28, Iftikhar Ahmed 3-38, Mohammad Musa Khan 2-42); SNGPL 167-4 in 54 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 77 not out, Misbah-ul-Haq 45, Hussain Talat 20 not out).

Group-II:

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: SSGCL 211 in 54.2 overs (Aamir Yamin 80, Saifullah Khan Bangash 48, Fawad Alam 22; Khurram Shehzad 5-57, Abdur Rehman 4-40); HBL 85-3 in 25 overs (Umar Akmal 32, Saad Khan 18 not out; Mohammad Amir 1-7, Usman Khan Shinwari 1-28).

At Southend Club, Karachi: PESHAWAR 298-8 in 90 overs (Israrullah 80, Akbar Badshah 77 not out, Nabi Gul 43, Mohammad Mohsin Khan 24, Sahibzada Farhan 23, Gohar Ali 20; Mohammad Sami 3-66, Faraz Ahmed Khan 3-70, Abdullah Mukaddam 2-80) vs KARACHI WHITES.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2018