KARACHI: First XI leaders Central Punjab needed the experienced Kamran Akmal to bail them out against Sindh on the opening day of their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy clash at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad on Monday.

Elsewhere, Zeeshan Malik struck gold with an undefeated double century as he and captain Umar Amin guided struggling Northern to a commanding total versus Southern Punjab in Sialkot, while Imran Butt and stand-in skipper Imran Farhat also reached three-figures as Balochistan made a strong start against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Quetta.

After Sindh skipper Sarfraz Ahmed took the option of bowling first, Central Punjab were rattled upfront by fast bowlers Tabish Khan and Mir Hamza when they lost three wickets in the space of 17 runs to find themselves in real strife at 38-3. The recently-discarded Pakistan skipper Sarfraz was involved in two of those dismissals.

Tabish sent back Salman Butt (16) and Test captain Azhar Ali (1) before Hamza had Umar Akmal (13) caught by Fawad Alam. However, Ahmed Shehzad, who has taken over the captaincy for the rest of the first-class season, and Usman Salahuddin came together to share a 86-run partnership until Shehzad, who scored 60 off 134 balls (eight boundaries), provided Sarfraz his third catch of the innings by edging Hamza to the wicket-keeper.

Kamran arrived at 124-4 but shortly afterwards lost his partner as Usman (38 off 133 balls) was run out by a direct throw from Hamza. At 165-6 Central Punjab were in danger of not even surpassing 200 but Kamran found a reliable ally in Zafar Gohar (13). The pair added an invaluable 66 but Australia-bound spinner Kashif Bhatti got rid of them in quick successions.

Kamran fell just 10 short of what would have been the ex-Pakistan wicket-keeper’s 33rd first-class hundred. Batting with his usual carefree flair, Kamran’s 90 came off just 99 deliveries with the help of 13 boundaries and a brace of sixes.

Faheem Ashraf (22) and Ehsan Adil (9) lifted Central Punjab to 263 when stumps were drawn for the day.

For Kashif it turned out be a chastening day as the 33-year-old conceded 98 runs in 31 overs for his wickets, while Hamza (2-46) and Tabish (2-61) were the standout bowlers for Sindh.

Zeeshan, the Chakwal-born right-handed opening batsman, made it count in an emphatic style as the 22-year-old reached three figures for the first time in a brief career. After Umar won the toss against Shan Masood-led Southern Punjab at Sialkot’s Jinnah Stadium, Northern lost just one wicket in the entire day’s play as the visitors piled up 384-1 from just 79 overs.

Haider Ali was dismissed by discarded Test paceman Rahat Ali for 23 with the score on 41. But thereafter Zeeshan and Umar made merry while putting on 343 for the ongoing second-wicket partnership in only 294 minutes against a bowling line-up that includes Pakistan’s Test spearhead Mohammad Abbas, who delivered 15 wicketless overs for 70 runs.

Zeeshan, who had long gone past his previous best first-class score of 68, had moved to 204 by stumps during a stay of 332 minutes. His 241-ball stupendous was embellished with 27 fours and five sixes.

Umar, yet another of the long-discarded Pakistan players, completed his 20th century and was batting on a stroke-filled 153 off 205 balls (20 fours and two sixes).

It was almost a similar story at the Bugti Stadium where hosts Balochistan made a grand comeback from an uncertain tally of 114-3 to close at 341-3. After opener Awais Zia (69 off 74 balls, 10 fours and one six) had done his job, it was then left to Butt (135 off 258 balls, 12 fours and two sixes) and Farhat (114 off 190, 13 fours and one six) to pulverise the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bowling, featuring the international pace trio of Imran Khan, Junaid Khan and Usman Khan Shinwari.

Imran, who is is due to travel Down Under after earning a surprise call-up for the two-Test series against Australia, took 1-59 in 14 over, while Shinwari claimed 1-39 from his 14 overs and Junaid 0-58 in 17.

With the two Imrans already sharing a partnership of 227 in 255 minutes thus far, Balochistan remain on course for a substantial first-innings total on Tuesday’s second day.

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

Fifth round:

At Bugti Stadium, Quetta: BALOCHISTAN 341-3 in 90 overs (Imran Butt 135 not out, Imran Farhat 114 not out, Awais Zia 69) vs KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA.

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: CENTRAL PUNJAB 263-7 in 85 overs (Kamran Akmal 90, Ahmed Shehzad 60, Usman Salahuddin 38, Faheem Ashraf 22 not out; Mir Hamza 2-46, Tabish Khan 2-60, Kashif Bhatti 2-98) vs SINDH.

At Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot: NORTHERN 384-1 in 79 overs (Zeeshan Malik 204 not out, Umar Amin 153 not out, Haider Ali 23) vs SOUTHERN PUNJAB.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2019