KARACHI, Jan 26: Title-chasers Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) made the most of ineffective bowling dished out by Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) to reach 275 for four on the opening day of the five-day Patron's Trophy final at the National Stadium on Monday.

On a pitch that appeared to be in favour of seam bowling, ZTBL badly dissipated the advantage of winning the toss as their pace bowlers, led by skipper Rao Iftikhar and Test all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, sprayed the ball all over the place.

The Wapda batsmen seldom found any terror in the pitch as they batted themselves into a strong position thanks to two century partnerships. Asif Hussain and Adil Nisar started with a stand of 104 in 144 minutes before Rao Iftikhar twice in successive deliveries after lunch, which was taken at 92 for no loss.

Adil departed for a fortuitous 57 when Faisal Naveed caught him at point. The left-hander struck nine boundaries during his 94-ball knock. New batsman Tariq Aziz then played across the line to the first ball he faced and was trapped palpably right in front of the stumps.

ZTBL got another unexpected break soon afterwards when Asif Hussain's patient 155-minute innings of 40 was ended by a rather debatable decision by international umpire Asad Rauf. TV replays revealed that the batsman was somewhat unlucky to be given out since the ball from Mohammad Siddique struck him quite high on the left thigh.

Asad was also at the centre of row during Patron's Cup final on Sunday when PIA expressed their unhappiness at several adjudications which went against them.

Wapda overcame the loss of those three wickets in eight balls as Shoaib Khan and Hasan Adnan came together in a solid partnership of 57 before the former misjudged the third ball after the tea break and was bowled for 24.

Thereafter, ZTBL toiled in vain as Hasan and Mohammad Zaman thwarted their bowlers by sharing the highest partnership - 107 - of the day in slightly over two hours. Even the second new ball, which was claimed with the score at 238, failed to deter either of them from scoring freely.

Hasan, who is due to play full season with the English county side Derbyshire this year, timed the ball superbly with an array of pulls, cuts and drives to finish the day on 81. His 187-ball knock was laced with 13 boundaries. Zaman proved a perfect foil to the pugnacious Hasan with a more cautious 40 off 93 balls, striking three fours in the process.

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