LAHORE: Mohammad Rameez Junior picked up his ninth first-class five-wicket haul while Sarmad Bhatti struck a century as action unfolded across five venues in four cities on Sunday, the opening day of the latest round of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy.

At the Diamond Cricket Ground, Lahore Whites’ leg-spinner Rameez returned figures of 5-110 as Abbottabad reached 273-7 in 83 overs by stumps.

Abbottabad openers Shahzaib Khan (74 off 161 balls, eight fours) and Yasir Khan (56 off 99, five fours, two sixes) provided a solid 104-run start before Rameez dismissed both and went on to remove all of the top five batters, including captain Fakhar Zaman who made a 109-ball 53.

At the Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi, Islamabad reached 344-5 in 90 overs against Bahawalpur, thanks to Sarmad Bhatti’s 10th first-class century — a fluent 144 off 214 balls with 19 boundaries.

Sarmad shared a crucial 205-run fifth-wicket partnership with Mohammad Hammad Khan (80 not out off 168 balls, five fours) after Islamabad had slipped to 130-4. Raja Hamza Waheed contributed 60 off 64 balls with 10 fours.

At the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Peshawar posted 271 all out in 63 overs against Fata.

Israrullah (91 off 171, 12 fours, one six) and Iftikhar Ahmed (78 off 84, 13 fours) put on 134 for the third wicket, while number eight batter Niaz Khan added a brisk 47 off 60 balls, striking nine fours and a six.

In reply, Fata reached 60 without loss in eight overs at stumps, with Mohammad Farooq on 34 and Mohammad Naeem on 24.

At the Imran Khan Stadium in Peshawar, Faisalabad closed on 203-5 in 77 overs against Sialkot. Atiq-ur-Rehman top-scored with 81 off 118 balls (13 fours), while Faham-ul-Haq made 51 off 174 (two fours, one six). Mohammad Ali and Athar Mehmood took two wickets each for Sialkot.

At the Marghzar Cricket Ground in Islamabad, Karachi Blues ended the day at 49-1 in 10 overs, trailing Multan by 211 runs. Saad Baig was unbeaten on 30.

Earlier, Multan were bowled out for 260 in 70.5 overs. Arafat Minhas (77 off 111 balls, 10 fours, one six) and Waqar Hussain (50 off 84, seven fours) both made half-centuries. Bismillah Khan chipped in with 41.

Danish Aziz (2-4), Rameez Aziz (2-13), Saqib Khan (2-51) and Muhammad Umar (2-63) shared the wickets.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2025