ISLAMABAD: Centuries from Danish Aziz and debutant Haroon Arshad gave Karachi Blues an upper hand against Faisalabad Region on the second day of their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy opening-round match at the Marghzar Cricket Ground in Islamabad on Tuesday.

On a day when rain significantly interrupted play, the trophy games finally started at four venues after the first day was washed at all five stadiums while toss could not take place at the Imran Khan Stadium in Peshawar on Tuesday due to a wet outfield.

Having elected to bat first, Karachi Blues scored 346-5 in 81.3 overs with the help of centuries from Danish (116 not out off 153 balls, 17 fours, three sixes) and Haroon (101 off 157, 13 fours).

The duo stitched a mammoth 188-run stand for the fifth wicket after Karachi Blues slid to 129-4 despite Saim Ayub’s 89-ball 63 studded with 11 fours. Mohammad Ghazi Ghori (14 not out) was at the crease with Danish when the stumps were drawn.

For Faisalabad, Atiq-ur-Rehman, Faham-ul-Haq, Ahmed Safi Abdullah and Shehzad Gul took one wicket each.

Bahawalpur managed to post 76 runs for the loss of two wickets against Abbottabad on a rain-shortened day when stumps were drawn at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium in Abbottabad. Only 21.3 overs were bowled.

At the Diamond Cricket Ground in Islamabad, only 36 overs were bowled due to a delayed start as Fata scored 71-2 in 36 overs.

Islamabad reached 91-1 in the 28.2 overs at the Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi against Lahore Whites.

Scores in brief:

Karachi Blues vs Faisalabad at Marghzar Cricket Ground, Islamabad:

KARACHI BLUES 346-5 in 81.3 overs (Danish Aziz 116 not out, Haroon Arshad 101, Saim Ayub 63, Omair Bin Yousuf 24; Atiq-ur-Rehman 1-11)

Abbottabad vs Bahawalpur at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Abbottabad:

BAHAWALPUR 76-2 in 21.3 overs (Mohammad Ammar 30 not out; Israr Hussain 1-8)

Fata vs Multan at Diamond Cricket Ground, Islamabad:

FATA 71-2 in 36 overs (Haseebullah 29, Mohammad Farooq 25; Ali Usman 1-16)

Lahore Whites vs Islamabad at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi:

ISLAMABAD 91-1 in 28.2 overs (Shamyl Hussain 46 not out, Rizwan Ali 18 not out)

Peshawar vs Sialkot at Imran Khan Stadium, Peshawar:

Toss delayed due to wet outfield.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2025