KARACHI: Overnight rain in northern parts of the country prevented play on day one in three of the second-round eight fixtures of the Patron’s Trophy Grade-II cricket tournament on Thursday.

The games disrupted were in Lahore where Karachi Port Trust and K-Electric were due to begin their Pool ‘D’ match at the LCCA Ground, the Pool ‘B clash in Faisalabad between Higher Education Commission and Port Qasim Authority at the Iqbal Stadium and the Pool ‘C’ tie in Rawalpindi where Army were due to host Pakistan Air Force at the Army Cricket Ground.

But despite curtailed action, openers Hamza Ghanchi and Ashfaq Ahmed both reached three figures for their respective departments in the two Pool ‘A’ encounters here in Karachi.

Ashfaq contributed an even 100 (146 balls, seven fours and one six) as Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) reached 262-9 — in the mandatory 83-over set aside for first innings — after opting to bat first against Omar Associates at the SBP Sports Complex.

Slow left-armer Mohammad Irfan captured five wickets for 100 runs before Omar Associates began their reply on a poor note while closing the day at 34-2.

Hamza hammered 116 from 145 deliveries while striking 14 boundaries and a six as Navy posted a healthy 336 in 80 overs after Haideri Trader chose to field first at the NBP Sports Complex.

By stumps Haideri Traders in strife at 64-3 from 20 overs.

Ghani Glass made a mockery of CandyLand’s decision to bowl first in the Pool ‘B’ game at the Rana Naved-ul-Hasan Academy in Sheikhupura by reaching 175-1 in the possible 44 overs.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) found the going extremely hazardous in the Pool ‘C’ match at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad as they nosedived to 71-5 in 31 overs after being put in by State Bank.

In the Pool ‘D’ fixture at the Railways Stadium in Lahore, Sabir’s Poultry were 13-1 after bowling out Pakistan Railways, who were asked to bat first, for exactly 200.

Close of play scores on Thursday (day one of three):

Second round:

Pool ‘A’:

At SBP Sports Complex, Karachi: CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY 262-9 in 83 overs (Ashfaq Ahmed 100, Akbar Badshah 55, Musadiq Ahmed 41; Mohammad Irfan 5-100); OMAR ASSOCIATES 34-2 in 11 overs.

At NBP Sports Complex, Karachi: NAVY 336 in 80 overs (Hamza Ghanchi 116; Latif Junejo 45, Mohammad Waqas 42 not out, Wasim Ahmed 38, Fawad Khan 27; Jalat Khan 6-118, Mohammad Ibrahim 3-63); HAIDERI TRADERS 64-3 in 20 overs (Adnan Bhatti 23 not out, Mohammad Usman 23 not out; Nasir Owais 2-22).

Pool ‘B’:

At Rana Naved-ul-Hasan Academy, Sheikhupura: GHANI GLASS 175-1 in 44 overs (Shahbaz Javed 68, Zeeshan Ashraf 65 not out) vs CANDYLAND.

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION vs PORT QASIM AUTHORITY — No play due to overnight rain.

Pool ‘C’:

At Army Cricket Ground, Rawalpindi: ARMY vs PAKISTAN AIR FORCE — No play due to overnight rain.

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES 71-5 in 31 overs (Fahad Iqbal 32 not out, Shahzar Mohammad 28; Mohammad Ilyas 4-28) vs STATE BANK.

Pool ‘D’:

At Railways Stadium, Lahore: PAKISTAN RAILWAYS 200 in 61 overs (Hasan Sardar 53 not out, Zain-ul-Hasnain 47, Mohammad Waqas 27; Nisar Ahmed 4-54, Ghulam Rehman 3-60, Sadaqat Ali 2-27); SABIR’S POULTRY 13-1 in 4 overs.

At LCCA Ground, Lahore: KARACHI PORT TRUST vs K-ELECTRIC — No play due to overnight rain.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2019