KARACHI: The opening day in the revamped Quaid-e-Azam Trophy first-class cricket championship on Saturday was marked by a double century opening partnership and a brilliant recovery while five batsmen reached three figures.

While two of the three visiting captains — Haris Sohail of Balochistan and Northern’s Imad Wasim — used the newly-introduced no-toss option to bowl first but their judgement backfired as Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa piled up solid totals.

Southern Punjab, whose captain Shan Masood chose to bat after, piled on agony for the newly-announced Pakistan ODI and T20 vice-captain Babar Azam, who is leading Central Punjab.

Khurram Manzoor and Abid Ali laid a solid foundation for Sindh here at the UBL Sports Complex by adding 212 in 343 minutes before Test leg-spinner Yasir Shah brought some respite for Balochistan with two quick wickets in the final session of play as the home team closed at 237-2.

On a pitch of true bounce and pace Balochistan bowlers remained wicketless in the first two sessions as both Khurram and Abid batted with great caution, while the scoring rate also suffered. By lunch they had only scored 43 in 28 overs before scoring 73 from the next 28 overs in the post-lunch period. The final session was a big contrast as Sindh collected 121 runs from 34 overs.

Both openers got to 100-run mark in the space of four minutes with Khurram being the first to get there in 323 minutes. He was caught in the deep for 105 (242 balls, 13 fours and one six).

But Abid, who hit 112 on his ODI debut against Australia in Dubai last March, remained solid as ever. The 31-year-old followed up his 134 that helped HBL win the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy title last December by reaching 120 (273 balls, 13 boundaries) with Asad Shafiq (5) partnering him.

Yasir gained marginal turn before ending the day with figures of 2-90 in 31 overs.

Ashfaq Ahmed struck 106 (174 balls, 14 fours and one six) led a strong batting display by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who posted a healthy 343-4 against Northern at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium.

After openers Fakhar Zaman (33) and Sahibzada Farhan (29) perished with 70 on the board, Ashfaq added 117 with Iftikhar Ahmed (35) before putting a further 65 with skipper Mohammad Rizwan, who slammed 12 fours and one six in scoring 84.

Adil Amin (49) and Rizwan have so far put on 91 for the unbroken fifth-wicket partnership.

Meanwhile, fateha khwani and a minute’s silence was held before start of all three matches to pay respect to legendary Pakistan leg-spinner Abdul Qadir, who died in Lahore on Sept 6, while players and umpires sported black armbands.

Mohammad Yaqoob adds from Lahore: Centuries from Test discards Sami Aslam and Adnan Akmal, who shared an unfinished partnership of 217, enabled Southern Punjab to make a splendid recovery against Central Punjab at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Coming together after left-arm seamer Waqas Maqsood grabbed three wickets to leave Southern Punjab tottering at 74-4 with captain Shan Masood also dismissed for 12, opener Sami and wicket-keeper/batsman Adnan guided their side to 291-4.

Waqas ripped out Shan, Sohaib Maqsood (6) and Umar Siddique (4) while Hasan Ali sent back Imran Rafiq (5) in the first session. However, Central Punjab were thwarted by the defiance of Sami and Adnan who made them pay for sloppy work in the field.

Both Sami and Adnan conveyed a strong message to the newly-appointed Pakistan chief selector-cum-head coach Misbah-ul-Haq after the previous selection committee had constantly ignored their claims.

The left-handed Sami Aslam, who played the last of his 13 Tests against Sri Lanka in 2017, had moved to 151 from 262 balls in 369 minutes while striking 19 boundaries after completing his century in 160 balls.

Adnan, whose 21-Test career came to a halt through a fractured hand in early 2014, was batting on 106 with his 175-ball innings containing 14 fours.

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

First round:

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: SINDH 237-2 in 90 overs (Abid Ali 120 not out, Khurram Manzoor 105; Yasir Shah 2-90) vs BALOCHISTAN.

At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: SOUTHERN PUNJAB 291-4 in 84 overs (Sami Aslam 151 not out, Adnan Akmal 106 not out; Waqas Maqsood 3-51) vs CENTRAL PUNJAB.

At Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Abbottabad: KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA 343-4 in 90 overs (Ashfaq Ahmed 106, Mohammad Rizwan 84 not out, Adil Amin 49 not out, Iftikhar Ahmed 35, Fakhar Zaman 33, Sahibzada Farhan 29) vs NORTHERN.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2019