Round seven of QeA Tropy 2019/20 begins.

Round seven of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2019 began on Monday at various venues of the country. The four day matches will take place from 11-14 November 2019.

Table topping Central Punjab are playing Balochistan at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Sindh and Northern are battling it out at National Stadium, Karachi. The third game is being played between Southern Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at Abbottabad Stadium.

Central Punjab vs Balochistan:

Half-centuries by Azeem Ghumman and Imran Butt had Balochistan at 232 for two on the first day of their four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy seventh-round fixture against Central Punjab at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium before play had to be called-off due to bad light.

Opener Azeem and one down Butt stitched a 92-run partnership for the second-wicket for the visitors after Balochistan were asked to bat by Central Punjab captain Ahmed Shehzad. 

Azeem hit his 20th first class half century and scored a solid 72 before being dismissed. His stay also included a 71-run opening-partnership with Awais Zia (44). The 28-year-old right-handed batsman cracked 10 boundaries in his 200-minute stay at the crease. 

After Awais was dismissed, Butt ensured Balochistan’s innings stayed on track as he scored 77 not out from 119 balls. The 23-year-old had smashed 11 fours and was joined by his side’s captain Imran Farhat (30 not out) when stumps were drawn. 

For Central Punjab, right-arm medium-fast bowlers Mohammad Ali and Ehsan Adil took a wicket each for 42 and 57 runs.

Sindh vs Northern:

Middle-order batsman Faizan Riaz scored a sensational double century to lead Northern’s fight back against Sindh on day-one of the seventh-round of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy first-class match being played at the National Stadium, Karachi on Monday.

Northern, who won the toss and opted to bat first, were jolted early as Sohail Khan and Tabish Khan removed the top-order cheaply leaving Northern reeling at 15 for three inside the first six overs. Sohail took two while Tabish took one wicket in a lively opening burst that gave Sindh the edge.

Faizan then started the repair work with an attacking approach and remained undeterred in his stroke play throughout his innings. Faizan reached the three-figure mark off 91 balls with the help of 15 fours and one six. 

The right-handed batsman added 143 runs for the fourth wicket with Shoaib Ahmed Minhas (49 off 74 balls, six fours). He continued his attacking vein after going past his 100 reaching the second double century of his career off 188 balls, having struck 26 fours and three sixes in 188 minutes of batting.

Faizan was eventually dismissed by Mir Hamza for 211 off 200 balls; his eventual boundary tally was 27 fours and three sixes. Following his partnership with Shoaib, Faizan added 178 runs for the sixth wicket with Ali Sarfaraz (60 off 124 balls, seven fours).

From 336 for four, Northern stuttered to 367 for eight. All-rounder Hammad Azam held the lower-order together with an unbeaten 50 off 64 balls, five fours, three sixes).

Northern had reached 396 for eight in their first innings when play was called-off after 87 overs.

Southern Punjab vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa:

Southern Punjab had reached 243 for five when bad light brought an early closure to the opening day’s play in their four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fixture against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the Abbottabad Stadium on Monday.

Second-placed Southern Punjab were piloted by opener Umar Siddiq when he recorded his second half-century of the tournament scoring 88. Umar, who faced 201 balls and hit nine fours and a six, now has taken his tally of runs to 381.

Umar added 91 runs for the first wicket with Sami Aslam (38), while he put on 51 for the second wicket with Zeeshan Ashraf (25).

When play ended, Sohaib Maqsood and Salman Ali were at the crease at 38 and two, respectively.

For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ahmed Jamal was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 22-7-53-3.