KARACHI: Khurram Manzoor and Saud Shakeel hit centuries to help Sindh boost their chances of reaching the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy final on the opening day of their tenth-round tie against Balochistan at Lahore’s LCCA Ground on Sunday.

Sindh are placed second in the Trophy behind Northern, whose formidable line-up was bundled out for 223 by defending champions Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the Shoaib Akhtar Stadium in Rawalpindi.

Central Punjab, who are also eyeing a spot in the final, saw Southern Punjab’s Zeeshan Ashraf score a ton against them at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

For Sindh, opener Khurram led the way with an unbeaten 174 off 258 balls (24 fours, one six). After a 70-run opening stand with Saim Ayub (41), Khurram notched up an unbroken 279-run alliance for the second-wicket with captain Saud.

The stylish left-hander was batting on 124 off 159 balls (13 fours, one six) when stumps were drawn for the day as Sindh ended the day at 349-1. Southern Punjab, boosted by Zeeshan’s knock, posted 270-3 by the close of the first day’s play. The left-hander scored a scintillating 145 off 230 balls (22 fours, three sixes) to lead the way. Zeeshan added 140 runs for the third wicket with Imran Rafiq, who was batting on 58 off 131 balls (eight fours, one six) before play was called-off due to bad light.

Northern had a poor start to their match against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after being asked to bat first. Wicket-keeper/batter Rohail Nazir held the innings together with 82 off 158 balls (seven fours, one six). All-rounders Mubasir Khan and Aamir Jamal contributed 31 runs each.

Ihsanullah took four while Niaz Khan took three wickets. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 6-1 when stumps were drawn for the day.

Summarised scores:

Sindh 349-1 against Balochistan

SINDH 349-1 in 75 overs (Khurram Manzoor 174 not out, Saud Shakeel 124 not out; Kashif Bhatti 1-82)

Southern Punjab 270-3 against Central Punjab

SOUTHERN PUNJAB 270-3 in 74.3 overs (Zeeshan Ashraf 145, Imran Rafiq 58 not out; Mohammad Saad 1-15)

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa trail by 217 runs against Northern

NORTHERN 223 in 72.3 overs (Rohail Nazir 82, Mubasir Khan 31; Ihsanullah 4-41, Niaz Khan 3-59); KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA 6-1 in two overs.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2022