KARACHI: Pool ‘A’ leaders Omar Associates staged a good comeback after being bowled out by Navy for 194 in their first innings at the start of the last preliminary-round fixture in the Patron’s Trophy Grade-II cricket tournament here on Monday.

Opting to bat first at the NBP Sports Complex, Omar Associates lost badly their way after reaching 88-1 to be dismissed in 69 overs. Fahaddis Bukhari was the top-scorer with 68 off 165 balls (nine boundaries), while the spin duo of left-armer Fawad Khan (5-68 in 29 overs) and Raza-ul-Hasan (3-45 in 17) shared the bowling honours.

But Navy then struggled in their reply as they went to stumps on day at 64-3.

Omar Associates, who head the pool with 15 points, are bidding for a third straight victory.

Mirza Ahsan Jamil grabbed all six wickets as Haideri Traders stumbled to 122-6 after dismissing Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for 226 while batting first at the UBL Sports Complex. Fellow slow left-armer and Haideri Traders skipper Jalat Khan claimed 6-62 in 21.3 overs after Ashar Qureshi had played a scintillating 86-ball knock of 70 (13 fours).

Ghani Glass, the Pool ‘B’ leaders, rode on substantial contributions from Zeeshan Ashraf (94 off 151 balls, 13 boundaries), Tayyab Tahir (91 off 81, eight fours and four sixes), Shahbaz Javed (60, six fours) and Yousuf Babar (51, three boundaries) to post 399-9 in the curtailed first-innings quota of 83 overs after deciding to bat first against Port Qasim Authority (PQA) at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.

Former Pakistan Test paceman Tanvir Ahmed made a rare appearance to claim four wickets for 57 runs in 10 overs with left-arm spinner Azam Hussain taking 4-113 in 27 overs.

PQA closed the day at 12-1.

Fahad Usman (81 off 79 balls, 10 boundaries) and Arsalan Zia (42) guided Higher Education Commission (HEC) to 146-1 after CandyLand collected 250 in their first innings at the Rana Naved-ul-Hasan Academy in Sheikhupura.

HEC skipper Asfand Mehran excelled with his left-arm spin to snare 5-63.

State Bank took full control of their Pool ‘C’ clash by bowling out current leaders Pakistan Air Force (PAF) for 116and then reaching 161-3 at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad.

PIA reached 105-2 after dismissing Army for 200 at the Army Cricket Ground in Rawalpindi with off-spinner Tahir Khan capturing 5-62 in 22.4 overs.

Sabir’s Poultry, who currently head Pool ‘D’, fared miserably when they were shot out for 84 by Karachi Port Trust (KPT) as the bowlers dominated play at the LCCA Ground in Lahore.

Put into bat, KPT made 150 with Shah Ali Zafar scoring 91 (102 balls, 17 boundaries).

Seamer Ghulam Rehman took 5-49 but then saw his team being sent packing in 27.3 overs by pace duo of Babar Rehman (4-20) and Husban Javed (4-28).

KPT extended their overall lead to 104 by collecting 48-3 in their second innings.

K-Electric, who trailed Sabir’s Poultry by just three points, posted a healthy 295 after Railways chose to bowl first at Lahore’s Railways Stadium. Nasir Nawaz struck an 86-ball 95 that included 11 fours and five sixes, while off-spinner Hamza Nazar captured 5-88.

Railways were 83-3 in their reply by draw of stumps.

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

Third round:

Pool ‘A’:

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY 226 in 52.3 overs (Ashar Qureshi 70, Ashfaq Ahmed 29, Shahid Nawaz 26; Jalat Khan 6-62, Mohammad Ibrahim 3-47); HAIDERI TRADERS 122-6 in 45 overs (Mohammad Usman 35, Momin Waqar 24, Jalat Khan 21 not out; Mirza Ahsan Jamil 6-51).

At NBP Sports Complex, Karachi: OMAR ASSOCIATES 194 in 69 overs (Fahaddis Bukhari 68, Arsalan Bashir 44; Fawad Khan 5-68, Raza-ul-Hasan 3-45); NAVY 64-3 in 25 overs (Latif Junejo 31, Hafiz Asad Baig 27; Ulfat Shah 2-6).

Pool ‘B’:

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: GHANI GLASS 399-9 in 83 overs (Zeeshan Ashraf 94, Tayyab Tahir 91, Shahbaz Javed 60, Yousuf Babar 51, Haris Nazar 31 not out, Irfan Liaquat 27; Tanvir Ahmed 4-57, Azam Hussain 4-113); PORT QASIM AUTHORITY 12-1 in 5 overs.

At Rana Naved-ul-Hasan Academy, Sheikhupura: CANDYLAND 250 in 63.1 overs (Tayyab Riaz 83, Babar Ali 61 not out, Fawadullah 22; Asfand Mehran 5-63, Fahad Usman 2-20); HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION 146-1 in 24 overs (Fahad Usman 81 not out, Arsalan Zia 42 not out).

Pool ‘C’:

At Army Cricket Ground, Rawalpindi: ARMY 200 in 63.4 overs (Shoaib Khan 82, Haseeb-ur-Rehman 43, Hamza Arshad 28; Tahir Khan 5-62); PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES 105-2 in 24 overs (Shahzar Mohammad 34, Maeez Viqar 29, Hanif Azad 28 not out).

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: PAKISTAN AIR FORCE 116 in 39.5 overs (Ali Malik 30; Mohammad Ilyas 4-41, Hamza Nadeem 3-11, Mohammad Nawaz 2-11); STATE BANK 161-3 in 34 overs (Saad Ali 46 not out, Usman Salahuddin 34 not out, Rizwan Hussain 28, Israrullah 21, Mohammad Nawaz 20; Mohammad Shahzad 3-18).

Pool ‘D’:

At LCCA Ground, Lahore: KARACHI PORT TRUST 150 in 37.2 overs (Shah Ali Zafar 91; Ghulam Rehman 5-49, Asif Fawad 2-14, Nisar Ahmed 2-61) and 48-3 in 10 overs (Ghulam Rehman 2-20); SABIR’S POULTRY 84 in 27.3 overs (Imran Nazir 32; Babar Rehman 4-20, Husban Javed 4-28, Khalid Mahmood 2-36)

At Railways Stadium, Lahore: K-ELECTRIC 295 in 58.1 overs (Nasir Nawaz 95, Umair Bin Yousuf 68, Jahanzaib Sultan 47; Hamza Nazar 5-88, Mohammad Rameez 3-66, Abdul Rauf 2-53); RAILWAYS 83-3 in 22 overs (Zain-ul-Hasnain 29, Mohsin Pervez 20; Asad Raza 3-49).

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2019