LAHORE: Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed took the gloves for Karachi Blues, while Lahore’s Mohammad Ramiz claimed a five-wicket haul and Islamabad’s Sarmad Bhatti scored a fine century on the opening day of the second-round action in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, which commenced on Sunday.

Sarfaraz, one of the mentors of the disbanded Champions team who last played an international match in December 2023 and missed his side’s opening fixture against Faisalabad, kept wickets and took a catch for Karachi Blues as Multan were dismissed for 260 in 70.5 overs after being sent in to bat at the Marghzar Cricket Stadium.

Arafat Minhas (77), Waqar Hussain (50) and Bismillah Khan (41) were the notable scorers as the Punjab side lost their last five wickets for 92 runs, slipping from 168 for five to 260 all out.

Wickets were evenly shared between Danish Aziz, Ramiz Aziz, Saqib Khan and Muhammad Umar.

At stumps, Karachi Blues had reached 49 for one, with Mirza Saad Baig (30) and Omair Bin Yousuf (11) set to resume their innings on Monday morning.

ABBOTTABAD v LAHORE

Lahore’s Mohammad Ramiz picked up five of the seven Abbottabad wickets as the latter reached 273 for seven in 83 overs at the Diamond Cricket Ground. The spinner returned figures of 30-3-110-5, while Saad Nasim claimed the other two wickets for just three runs.

For Abbottabad, the top three batters all crossed the 50-mark but the side failed to capitalise on a solid start, collapsing from 175 for one to 253 for seven before closing the day at 273 for seven. Openers Shahzaib Khan (76, 8×4, 161b) and Yasir Khan (56, 5×4, 2×6, 99b) provided a 104-run opening stand, while No.3 batter Fakhar Zaman continued the good work with 53 off 109 balls, hitting six fours.

ISLAMABAD v BAHAWALPUR

Sarmad Bhatti struck a superlative century as Islamabad posted an impressive 344 for five in 90 overs against Bahawalpur at the Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium.

Sarmad was the last batter dismissed shortly before stumps after scoring a brilliant 144 off 214 balls, including 19 fours. Together with Hammad Khan, he added 205 runs for the fifth wicket after Islamabad had slipped to 130 for four earlier in the day.

When play ended, Hammad was on 80 and Rizwan Ali on four. No.3 batter Raja Hamza Waheed (60) and opener Shamyl Hussain (28) were the other notable contributors for Islamabad.

FAISALABAD v SIALKOT

No.4 batter Atiq ur Rehman scored 81 (13×4, 118b), opener Faham ul Haq made 51 (2×4, 1×6, 174b), and Mohammad Awais Zafar was unbeaten on 42 as Faisalabad reached 203 for five in 77 overs against Sialkot at the Imran Khan Cricket Stadium in Peshawar.

For Sialkot, fast bowlers Mohammad Ali and Athar Mehmood took two wickets each, conceding 35 and 42 runs respectively.

PESHAWAR v FATA

No.3 batter Israr Ullah fell victim to the nervous nineties as Peshawar were dismissed for 271 in 63 overs by FATA at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Israr scored 91 (12×4, 1×6, 171b) and added 134 runs for the third wicket with Iftikhar Ahmed (78, 13×4, 84b). However, after the partnership ended at 150, wickets tumbled quickly as Peshawar lost their last eight wickets for 121 runs.

Zahid Mehmood, Sameen Gul, Shahid Aziz and Akif Javed claimed two wickets each.

FATA made a promising start to their innings, reaching 60 without loss in eight overs. Muhammad Farooq (34) and Muhammad Naeem Junior (24) will resume their innings on Monday.

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (second round, day 1 of 4):

Scores in brief:

Abbottabad vs Lahore, Diamond Cricket Ground. Toss: Abbottabad

Abbottabad 273-7, 83 overs (Shahzaib Khan 73, Yasir Khan 56, Fakhar Zaman 53, Ahmed Khan 30; Mohammad Ramiz 5-110, Saad Nasim 2-3) v Lahore.

Sialkot vs Faisalabad, Imran Khan Cricket Stadium. Toss: Faisalabad

Faisalabad 203-5, 77 overs (Atiq ur Rehman 81, Faham ul Haq 51, Awais Zafar 42 not out; Mohammad Ali 2-35, Athar Mehmood 2-46) v Sialkot.

Peshawar vs FATA, Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Toss: Peshawar

Peshawar 271 all-out, 63 overs (Israr Ullah 91, Iftikhar Ahmed 78, Niaz Khan 47; Zahid Mehmood 2-20, Sameen Gul 2-69, Shahid Aziz 2-70, Akif Javed 2-70) v FATA 60-0, 8 overs (Muhammad Farooq 34 not out, Mohammad Naeem 24 not out)

Karachi vs Multan, Marghzar Cricket Stadium. Toss: Karachi

Multan 260 all-out, 70.5 overs (Arafat Minhas 77, Waqar Hussain 50, Bismillah Khan 41; Danish Aziz 2-4, Ramiz Aziz 2-13, Saqib Khan 2-51, Muhammad Umar 2-63) v Karachi 49-1, 10 overs (Saad Biag 30 not out)

Bahawalpur vs Islamabad, Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium. Toss: Bahawalpur

Islamabad 344-5, 90 overs (Sarmad Bhatti 144, Hammad Khan 80 not out, Raja Hamza Waheed 60, Shamyl Hussain 28; Muhammad Azab 2-51, Gulfam Aziz2-74) v Bahawalpur.