Kaneria destroys Multan on day one

HBL dominated the first day of their four-day Quaid-i-Azam Trophy match against Multan with the help of Kaneria.

HBL dominated the first day of their four-day Quaid-i-Azam Trophy match against Multan with Danish Kaneria being the destroyer-in-chief for the departmental side. Kaneria picked up six for 35 as Multan were bundled out for a modest 140 in just 36.5 overs in their first innings before HBL raced to 198 for four. The leg-spinner, who took nine wickets in his first match of the tournament, was on song again as he spun a web around the Multan batsmen. Zeeshanul Haq made 39 and Abdul Rauf contributed a 48-ball 36 but none of the other players offered any resistance. Ahmed Shahzad then dented any hopes Multan had of gaining a first-innings advantage as he made 76 off just 96 balls including 13 fours.

Blues fight back

Karachi Blues fought back by taking three quick wickets against SNGPL after being bowled out for 215 on the first day of their four-day match at the UBL Ground in Karachi. Adeel Malik destroyed SNGPL with three wickets for just nine runs as SNGPL struggled to reach 22 off 13 overs. Earlier, Blues could only manage 215 as Adil Raza took four for 50 while Zulqarnain supported well with three for 48. Saeed Bin Nasir was the only batsman to offer any kind of resistance on a pitch that saw 13 wickets fall on the first day as he made 46 including six boundaries.

ZTBL reach 258

ZTBL did well to reach 258 for six in 75.4 overs against hosts Sialkot with Sohail Tanvir hitting an unbeaten 48 to take his team out of trouble at the Jinnah Stadium. Harris Sohail however, was the star for ZTBL as he made a superb 74 off 128 deliveries while Inamul Haq contributed a resolute 33 off 90 deliveries, a knock that included seven boundaries. Muhammad Abbas took two for 54 while Mansoor Amjad also claimed a brace for the same number of runs.

Wickets tumble in Rawalpindi

It was a superb day for the bowlers as a total of 15 wickets fell on the first day of the match between NBP and Rawalpindi at the Pindi Stadium. The departmental side was bowled out for a paltry 175 in just 51.3 overs with Anwar Hafeez making a significant 69 while Wasim Khan contributing 36. Nasir Malik took six for 50 while Rizwan Akbar contributed three for 44. If this was not enough, the hosts were reduced to 59 for five in the 22 overs possible in the remaining day as Khan took four for 25 to go with his batting contribution earlier.

Islamabad manage 230

Hosts Islamabad reached 230 for nine on the first day against PIA with Nauman Masood making 57 off 117 deliveries at the Diamond Ground. Ameer Khan contributed 42 off 104 balls and Raja Kashif made 34. Kamran Sajid was the pick of the bowlers for PIA as he claimed three for 26 and got a helping hand from Ali Imran Pasha who picked up three for 68.

Faisalabad bowled out for 273

Faisalabad made 273 in the first inning of their match against Wapda with Ijaz Ahmed Junior and Mohammad Salman being the highlights at the Sports Stadium in Sargodha. Ahmed and Salman both contributed 73 each in the total but the day belonged to Kashif Raza who grabbed six wickets for 46 runs to put his side on top. Wapda could only play three overs as they reached 8 for no loss.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2010.