KARACHI: Talented Haris Sohail sent a strong reminder to the national selectors on Thursday as the left-hander scored his third century in consecutive President’s Trophy Grade-I National Cricket Championship match but despite his heroics Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) struggled to reach 188-7 against Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on the opening day of their sixth-round tie in Islamabad.

The 23-year-old left-hander, who toured Sri Lanka with the Pakistan Twenty20 squad in June this year but didn’t play, struck an unbeaten 103 after PIA skipper Kamran Sajid chose to field first after winning the toss at the Diamond Club Ground.

Haris — who made 115 not out and 58 not out against Wapda before making 3 and 117 not out against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) in the only matches he had played in the championship — kept going as wickets continued to tumble at the other end. His solid 220-ball effort in 328 minutes of crease occupation saw him strike 14 boundaries.

Zohaib Khan, who was promoted to No 3, played second fiddle to the dominant Haris in the third-wicket stand of 99 before being bowled by Test paceman Aizaz Cheema for 33. Sohail Tanvir was the only other ZTBL batsman to reach double figures.

He made 24 while helping Haris add exactly 50 for the sixth wicket until he was caught behind by Sarfraz Ahmed off Shoaib Malik.

Former Pakistan Under-19 paceman Anwar Ali was PIA’s most successful bowler with three for 59 with Aizaz taking for 37.

Pakistan Twenty20 skipper Mohammad Hafeez made telling contributions as leaders SNGPL enjoyed a good day against United Bank Limited at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi.

Having been inserted in by Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq, UBL openers Abid Ali and England-born Fahim Qureshi shared a solid partnership of 81 before Hafeez, who sat out the last game, struck four quick blows with his handy off-spinners to leave SNGPL’s hapless opponents reeling at 90-4.

Barring the in-form Abid, who made a fighting 82 off 150 balls with 12 boundaries, and the left-handed Fahim (27), it was tale of woes for UBL who limped to 165 all out at the start of the 48th over.

Hafeez, who finished with four for 13 in seven overs, then helped himself to a watchful 44 as SNGPL went to stumps at 112-2 after Test batsmen Taufiq Umar and Azhar Ali both departed with a single run apiece. Ali Waqas hit 52 off 62 balls with 10 fours in the unbroken stand of 105 with Hafeez.

Habib Bank Limited (HBL), who lost their unbeaten run in the championship against PIA three days ago, endured another tough day at the office as the star-studded line-up posted a disappointing 161 after being asked to bat first by Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) captain Zulfiqar Jan at the KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi.

Imran Farhat (26) and Shan Masood (19) put on 52 for the first wicket before the rot set in as Ahmed Shehzad (14), skipper Younis Khan (13), Asad Shafiq (21), Aftab Khan (0) and Usman Salahuddin (1) all went cheaply. Tail-ender Ehsan Adil was the top-scorer for them with 31.

HBL’s surprise tormentor turned out to be Ali Khan, another 23-year-old from Sialkot who is better known as a hard-hitting batsman who claimed a career-best 4-52 in 13 overs with his occasional medium-pacers after having captured just six wickets in previous 30 first-class matches.

KRL then negotiated 19.3 overs before stumps were drawn for the day with the hosts reaching 74-1 in their reply.

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) made steady progress to compile 260-6 after State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) captain Kashif Siddique invited them to have first use of the Gaddafi Stadium pitch in Lahore.

Pakistan Under-19 opener Sami Aslam, who is still just 16, batted for almost five hours to score a career-best 89 off 199 deliveries with the aid of 13 boundaries in only his sixth first-class appearance.

Former Test left-hander Qaiser Abbas is still batting with 61 (99 balls, 10 fours).

Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) were 40-1 after dismissing Port Qasim Authority (PQA) for a modest first-innings total of 215 at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.

Test paceman Junaid Khan was the star performer for Wapda with five for 68 in 19 overs after PQA’s Khurram Manzoor was the only skipper to win the toss and not field first.

Close of play scores on Thursday (day one of four):

At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: NATIONAL BANK OF PAKISTAN 260-6 in 80.5 overs (Sami Aslam 89, Qaiser Abbas 61 not out, Umair Khan 30; Mohammad Ali 2-56, Saad Altaf 2-66) v STATE BANK OF PAKISTAN.

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: PORT QASIM AUTHORITY 215 in 59.5 overs (Tanvir Ahmed 46, Umar Amin 43, Abdur Rauf 43; Junaid Khan 5-68, Zulfiqar Babar 3-38); WATER AND POWER DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 40-1 in 10 overs.

At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: UNITED BANK LIMITED 165 in 47.1 overs (Abid Ali 82; Mohammad Hafeez 4-13, Asad Ali 2-38); SUI NORTHERN GAS PIPELINES LIMITED 112-2 in 26 overs (Ali Waqas 52 not out, Mohammad Hafeez 44 not out).

At KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi: HABIB BANK LIMITED 161 in 53.5 overs (Ehsan Adil 31; Ali Khan 4-52, Rahat Ali 2-34, Mohammad Irfan 2-43); KHAN RESEARCH LABORATORIES 74-1 in (Zain Abbas 38 not out).

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: ZARAI TARAQIATI BANK LIMITED 188-7 in 76.5 overs (Haris Sohail 103 not out, Zohaib Khan 33; Anwar Ali 3-59, Aizaz Cheema 2-37) v PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES.