Lahore, 20 October 2021: Balochistan captain Imran Butt and Central Punjab opener Abid Ali made centuries in their sides’ matches against Sindh and Southern Punjab on the opening day of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2021-22.
Imran smashed 104 off 222 to record his sixth first-class century at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad. The right-hander knitted a solid 194-run stand with his fellow opener Imam-ul-Haq, who missed out on a century by three runs, as he was dismissed by Asad Shafiq after scoring 97 off 166 (10 fours and two sixes).
Balochistan ended the day on 253 for the loss of four wickets. Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (32 not out) and Ayaz Tasawar (0 not out) will resume the innings tomorrow. Sindh’s Mir Hamza, Mohammad Asghar and Mohammad Hasnain were the other bowlers to take a wicket each.
As Balochistan had crossed the 250-run mark, they gathered two batting points for the innings, while Sindh got one bowling point for dismissed four batters inside the first 100 overs.
Abid’s unbeaten 132 was the highlight of the first day of the Punjab Derby at Multan Cricket Stadium as Central Punjab ended the day at a strong 289 for three. They gathered two batting points.
Abid faced 249 balls and despatched 22 of them towards boundary. The Pakistan Test opener added 100 runs for the first wicket with Ahmed Shehzad, who made 63 off 83 (11 fours) before he was caught off Aamer Yamin after Lunch. Central Punjab captain Azhar Ali was LBW by his opposite number, Mohammad Abbas, after scoring 25 (four fours).
When pacer Mohammad Ilyas dismissed Mohammad Saad (12 off 41), he handed Southern Punjab a point for helping them take three wickets.
Left-hander Hussain Talat pushed the Southern Punjab bowlers on the backfoot in the latter part of the day with an unbeaten 46. He smashed eight fours.
At the Gaddafi Stadium, in front of nine High-Definition cameras which are beaming live-action around the world through PCB’s official YouTube channel, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa openers Sahibzada Farhan and Israrullah and captain Iftikhar Ahmed struck half-centuries.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were provided a solid start with a 92-run opening stand. Farhan smashed seven fours and a six in his 134-ball 71, while Israr made 50 off 79 (four fours and a six).
Iftikhar carried his impressive form with the bat in red-ball cricket and smashed three fours and a six as he remained unbeaten on 50 off 106. He will resume Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s innings on 240 for five from 81 overs with Khalid Usman (five not out) on Thursday.
Scores in brief:
Balochistan elected to bat after winning the toss against Sindh at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
Balochistan 253-4, 85 overs (Imran Butt 104, Imam-ul-Haq 97, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 32 not out)
Innings points – Balochistan 2, Sindh 1
Toss uncontested, Southern Punjab elected to bowl against Central Punjab at Multan Stadium
Central Punjab 289-3, 82.3 overs (Abid Ali 132 not out, Ahmed Shehzad 63, Azhar Ali 25)
Innings points – Central Punjab 2, Southern Punjab 1
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elected to bat after winning the toss against Northern at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 240-5, 81 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 71, Iftikhar Ahmed 50 not out, Israrullah 50)
Innings points – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 1, Northern 1
