FATA were eyeing victory over Lahore Whites, while Mohammad Huraira continued to sparkle with the bat on the third day of the first round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Gold on Thursday.

Lahore Whites, set a target of 412, were reeling at 40-4 at stumps at Diamond Cricket Ground, with Babar Azam unbeaten on 20. Afaq Afridi took two wickets, while Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shahid Aziz claimed one apiece.

Earlier, FATA, after securing a 128-run first-innings lead, resumed their second innings at 22-1 and were dismissed for 283. Opener Mohammad Farooq scored 123 off 113 balls, including nine fours. This was Farooq’s fourth century of the season, taking his tally to 894 runs in nine matches.

Salman Khan (53) and Shahid Aziz (33) were the other main contributors for FATA. For Lahore Whites, Salman Mirza took three wickets for 78 runs, while Mohammad Faiq, Hammad Aziz and Aamir Jamal claimed two wickets each.

At National Cricket Ground, defending champions Karachi Blues were facing an uphill task against Sialkot Blues after Mohammad Huraira’s second century of the season and 13th of his career put the Punjab side in a commanding position.

After conceding a 39-run first-innings lead, Sialkot declared their second innings at 388-5, with Huraira scoring 141 off 195 balls, including 17 fours and a six, setting Karachi Blues a 350-run target. Mohsin Riaz, who scored two centuries in the President’s Trophy, made 100 not out off 101 balls, with 10 fours and three sixes. The pair added 125 runs for the fourth wicket.

Abdullah Shafique (48) and Abdul Rehman (26) were the other notable run-scorers for Sialkot, while Karachi’s Mohammad Hamza took two wickets.

Karachi Blues, who were two for one at close, will need a strong batting performance on the final day to make a winning start to their title defence.

In Abbottabad, Faisalabad were 54-1 in their second innings after being forced to follow on by Peshawar Blues. In reply to Peshawar’s 503-4 declared, Faisalabad resumed the day at 118-2 and were dismissed for 259, with Atiq-ur-Rehman top-scoring with 72.

For Peshawar, Test spinner Sajid Khan took three wickets for 25 runs, while Mohammad Adnan claimed three for 50

At the Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Imran Rafiq scored 140 to help Multan take a 112-run first-innings lead against Islamabad. Imran’s 230-ball innings included 21 fours.

When play ended, Islamabad had reached 163-6, with Raja Hamza Waheed scoring 60. Sarmad Bhatti was unbeaten on 30 as Islamabad led Multan by 51 runs with four wickets remaining.

For Multan, Hasan Hafeez took three wickets for 41 runs, while Moheer Saeed claimed two for 23.

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Gold – Scores in brief, first round, day three of four

Islamabad vs. Multan, Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium

Islamabad 215 all out, 74.3 overs (Mohammad Hammad Khan 50, Sarmad Bhatti 40, Sudais Ulfat 38, Raja Hamza Waheed 25; Mohammad Shahzad 3-51, Mohammad Shan 3-52) and 163-6, 51 overs (Raja Hamza Waheed 60, Azeem Bari 34, Sarmad Bhatti 30 not out; Hasan Hafeez 3-41, Moheer Saeed 2-23)

Multan (overnight 249-7, 70 overs) 327 all-out, 90.2 overs (Imran Rafiq 140, Sharoon Siraj 82, Uzair Mumtaz 33, Aamer Yamin 27; Mohammad Musa 4-51, Mohammad Qaser 3-72, Ali Imran 2-36)

Peshawar Blues vs. Faisalabad, Abbottabad Cricket Stadium

Peshawar Blues 503-4 declared, 115.2 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 200 not out, Najab Khan 133, Mohammad Haris 70, Nabi Gul 48, Maaz Sadaqat 29; Mudasir Zunair 2-103, Asad Raza 2-139)

Faisalabad (overnight 118-2, 35.2 overs) 259 all-out, 92.2 overs (Atiq-ur-Rehman 72, Asim Ali 42, Faham-ul-Haq 31, Sameer Saqib 25, Mohammad Afzal 24, Ali Shan 21; Sajid Khan 3-25, Mohammad Adnan 3-50, Niaz Khan 2-55, Mohammad Amir Khan 2-66) and 54-1 (Faham-ul-Haq 29 not out)

Sialkot Blues vs. Karachi Blues, National Cricket Ground, Islamabad

Sialkot Blues 241 all out, 79.1 overs (Mohammad Huraira 117, Ahmed Hassan 43, Hamza Nazar 24; Mohammad Umar 4-19, Mohammad Asghar 3-55, Danish Aziz 2-38) and 388-5d, 78.4 overs (Mohammad Huraira 141, Mohsin Riaz 100 not out, Abdullah Shafique 48, Amad Butt 36 not out, Abdul Rehman 26; Mohammad Hamza 2-94)

Karachi Blues (overnight 9-1, 3.1 overs) 280 all out, 75.4 overs (Mohammad Ghazi Ghori 88, Rameez Aziz 49, Abdul Basit 37, Danish Aziz 31, Omair Yousuf 29; Athar Mahmood 3-72, Hasan Ali 2-37, Hamza Nazar 2-75) and 2-1

FATA vs. Lahore Whites, Diamond Cricket Ground

FATA 362 all out (Fawad Arshad 115, Rehan Afridi 69, Salman Khan Jr. 33, Mohammad Farooq 32, Mohammad Usman Khan 29, Mohammad Wasim Khan 29, Shaheen Shah Afridi 25; Hammad Aziz 6-97, Salman Mirza 2-73) and (overnight 22-1) 283 all-out, 59.1 overs (Mohammad Farooq 123, Salman Khan 53, Shahid Aziz 33; Salman Mirza 3-78, Mohammad Faiq 2-39, Hammad Aziz 2-42, Aamir Jamal 2-66)

Lahore Whites 234 all out, 49.2 overs (Aamir Jamal 74, Ali Zaryab 51, Babar Azam 28, Mohammad Faiq 26; Afaq Afridi 3-55, Shaheen Shah Afridi 3-69, Shahid Aziz 2-56) and 40-4, 17 overs (Babar Azam 20 not out, Mohammad Faiq 18; Afaq Afridi 2-11)

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Silver – Scores in brief, first round, day three of four

Peshawar Whites beat Bahawalpur by five wickets, KCCA Stadium, Karachi (Group A)

Bahawalpur 304 and 97

Peshawar Whites 219 and 183-5

Quetta beat Larkana by nine wickets, UBL Sports Complex, Karachi (Group A)

Larkana 116 and 143

Quetta 219 and 41-1

Lahore beat Rawalpindi by nine wickets, SBP Sports Complex, Karachi (Group A)

Rawalpindi 69 and 181

Lahore 174 and 79-1

AJK beat Karachi Whites by 109 runs, Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan (Group B)

AJK 209 all out and 171

Karachi Whites 121 and 150

Hyderabad vs. DM Jamali, Sports Complex, Rahim Yar Khan (Group B)

Hyderabad 519-8

DM Jamali 146-3

Abbottabad beat Sialkot Whites by 105 runs, Dring Stadium, Bahawalpur (Group B)

Abbottabad 175 all out and 243 all out

Sialkot Whites 136 all out and 117 all-out