LAHORE: The second day of the fifth round of the Hanif Mohammad Trophy witnessed a series of commanding individual performances, headlined by Rawalpindi’s Mehran Mumtaz’s six-wicket haul and centuries from five batters across six venues on Tuesday.

The spotlight shone brightly on bowling at the UBL Sports Complex, where Karachi Blues, resuming at 195-2, were eventually bowled out for 425 in 104.3 overs.

Omair Bin Yousuf was dismissed for a well-made 100 off 138 balls. However, the innings was defined by the left-arm spin of Rawalpindi’s Mehran, who delivered an exceptional spell, claiming six wickets in 40.3 overs.

In their second innings, Rawalpindi reached 100-2 in 27 overs, still trailing by 141 runs, with Abdul Faseeh unbeaten on 47.

In a dominant display at the National Bank Stadium, Multan mounted a strong reply to Larkana’s first-innings total of 329, which ended after adding just two runs to their overnight score.

Multan finished the day at a commanding 322-1 in just 77 overs, thanks largely to Zain Abbas, who remained not out on 158 off 201 balls. He shared significant partnerships with Waqar Hussain (72) and Ahmar Ashfaq, who was unbeaten on 69.

At the Abbasia Sports Complex, Quetta’s Bismillah Khan played a blistering innings, scoring an unbeaten 173 off 209 balls, including 16 fours and five sixes.

His heroic effort, which featured a crucial 154-run stand with Haseebullah (62), helped Quetta reach 303-6 in reply to Lahore Blues’ mammoth total of 450 all out.

Karachi Whites declared their first innings at 450-8 in 136 overs against AJK after resuming at 184-5. Wicketkeeper-batter Saifullah Bangash struck an unbeaten 110, while overnight batter Mohammad Taha was dismissed for 98. In response, AJK gathered 113-1, with Hasan Raza (64 not out) and Hasnain Shamir (42 not out) sharing an unbroken 111-run stand.

In Bahawalpur, Faisalabad seized the advantage against Hyderabad.

After bowling out Hyderabad for 189, conceding a slender 20-run first-innings lead, Faisalabad ended the day at 71-1 in their second innings, establishing an overall lead of 51 runs.

Hyderabad’s Zain-ul-Abidin scored a patient 107, while Ahmed Safi Abdullah and Asad Raza took three wickets each for Faisalabad.

Meanwhile, at the SBP Sports Complex, FATA enforced the follow-on against Dera Murad Jamali (DMJ). DMJ were bundled out for 153 in reply to FATA’s 311, with Asif Afridi and Arshadullah taking four wickets apiece. At stumps, DMJ, in their second innings, were struggling at 52-3.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2025