QeA Trophy 2019/20: Day one of round eight concludes

First day of the eighth round matches in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2019/20 is in the books where all six teams are locked in a competitive tussle to win a spot in the final.

Northern vs Southern Punjab:

Northern carried their impressive batting form, after their first victory of the tournament, into day one of their fixture against Southern Punjab at Rawalpindi’s KRL Stadium.

In the eighth-round match of country’s premier first-class tournament, the hosts were 339 for five in 78 overs when stumps were drawn.

Openers Umar Amin (90) and Zeeshan Malik (45) provided a solid foundation after Northern captain Nauman Ali elected to bat.

Northern were 121 for one by Lunch as Umar crossed the 50-run mark while Zeeshan was dismissed by left-arm medium-fast Zia-ul-Haq.

Southern Punjab tightened the screws in the afternoon session and had Umar, who struck 10 fours and four sixes in his 113-ball stay at the crease, back in the pavilion.

Ali Sarfraz, however, helped Northern march to 245 for three at Tea with a solid half-century. The 31-year-old left-handed batsman scored 73 runs from 130 balls.

Batting at six, Hammad Azam was unbeaten on 48 when the day ended. He was joined by wicket-keeper-batsman Jamal Anwar (18) at the other end. The pair had stitched an unbeaten 51-run partnership.

For Southern Punjab, left-arm spinner Mohammad Irfan was the pick of bowlers with three for 95 while Zia and leg-spinner Zahid Mehmood claimed a wicket each.

Balochistan vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa:

Balochistan’s Mohammad Asghar recorded his second five-wicket haul of the tournament on the first day of his side’s four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at UBL Sports Complex in Karachi.

The 20-year-old left-arm spinner removed four of the opposition’s top five batsmen and returned five for 90 in 30 overs as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa managed 290 runs for the loss of eight wickets before stumps were drawn six overs earlier due to fading light. 

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Ashfaq Ahmed, the second highest run-getter in the tournament, and Zohaib Khan resisted the bowling attack with 54 and 76 not out respectively. 

An 86-run partnership for the second-wicket between Israrullah and Ashfaq gave Khyber Pakhtunkhwa control of the proceedings after Sahibzada Farhan (nine) was removed by pacer Khurram Shehzad with only 16 runs on board. 

But, Asghar changed the course of the innings in the afternoon session as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa slipped to 206 for six from 106 for two. 

Zohaib crafted a solid half-century to rescue his side from a collapse. The all-rounder had scored 76 runs from 137 balls at close of the play which included eight fours. He was joined by Usman Shinwari (20) when the first day’s play came to an end. 

Asghar, after returning his eighth first-class five-fer, now sits at the third spot on the list of the bowlers with the highest wickets in the tournament. He has 24 scalps at 30.04 runs apiece. 

Central Punjab vs Sindh:

 Usman Salahuddin and Kamran Akmal produced fighting half centuries to lift Central Punjab to 216 for seven on day-one of the four-day eighth round Quaid-e-Azam Trophy first-class match at the National Stadium in Karachi on Monday.

Kamran continuing his good form in the tournament reached his 13,000 runs in first-class cricket during a punchy innings of 59 from 70 balls and Usman stood firm with 50 from 130 balls at stumps. 

The umpires called off play due to bad light with seven overs remaining in the day. 

Kamran and Usman came together with their team struggling on 89 for four and forged a partnership of 92 runs to ensure Central Punjab were not bowled out on the first day after electing to bat first. 

Sindh pacers were on song most of the time as Sohail Khan struck early on by trapping Salman Butt leg before for one to rock the visitors but Ahmed Shehzad (48 from 127 balls with seven fours) and Muhammad Saad (31 from 93 balls) ensured no more wickets fell till lunch. 

It was in the post lunch session that Sindh struck meaningful blows. Umar Akmal fell to Tabish Khan for eight while Anwar Ali who bowled economically throughout the day had Ahmed caught at point. 

With three wickets falling after lunch, Central Punjab were in trouble but Kamran strode to the crease and produced some spanking shots hitting ten fours before he edged a wide ball from Tabish to Sarfaraz shortly after tea. 

Zafar Gohar also went caught behind off Anwar Ali as Sarfaraz took a fine diving low catch to his left side. Sindh also snared Bilal Asif for one with Khurram Manzoor taking a smart catch at first slip but Ehsan Adil (9 from 16 balls) proved to be an able ally to Usman as the two batted till stumps.