LAHORE: Local hero Mohammad Rizwan geared up for the two-Test series against South Africa with a timely century against Sialkot on the fourth and final day of the first-round action in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy at the Imran Khan Cricket Stadium in Peshawar.

Starting the day on 21 in Peshawar’s 154 for four, Rizwan returned unbeaten on 123 — an innings that came off 203 balls and contained 13 fours and a six — as the home side declared their innings at 376 for five. White-ball wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris also had a useful outing, scoring 100 not out off 113 balls with 11 fours and four sixes. The two batters added 163 runs for the unbroken sixth-wicket partnership.

When the match ended, Sialkot were 156 for three in their first innings, with opener Azan Awais on 52. Mohsin Riaz was the other notable scorer with 67, while Peshawar’s Mohammad Abuzar picked up two for 14 on his first-class debut.

No play was possible on the first two days of this match due to rain and a wet outfield.

ISLAMABAD v LAHORE WHITES

Hussain Talat scored an undefeated century for Lahore as their match against Islamabad ended in a draw. Hussain had resumed his innings on 32 and finished 106 not out as Lahore were bowled out for 301 in reply to Islamabad’s 256.

Hussain’s 161-ball innings included nine fours and two sixes. Salman Ali Agha (47) was the other notable batter on Thursday, while Islamabad’s Nusrat Ullah was the pick of the bowlers with three for 71. Mohammad Nawaz, Jawad Ali, and Mohammad Musa Khan took two wickets each.

When the match was called off, Islamabad were 158 for three in their second innings, with Abdul Faseeh scoring 75 and Faizan Riaz on 30 not out.

FATA v MULTAN

Multan’s Bismillah Khan scored 138 and Sharoon Siraj made 61 as Multan claimed a first-innings lead in their drawn match against FATA. In reply to FATA’s 273, Multan scored 394. When the match ended, FATA were 39 for one in their second innings.

Batting at No. 7, Bismillah struck 16 fours and four sixes in a 158-ball innings. Together with Sharoon (7×4, 1×6, 91b), he added 66 runs for the sixth wicket after Multan had slipped to 146 for five, having started the day at 88 for three. Bismillah added another 79 runs for the seventh wicket with Arafat Minhas (34).

The highlight of FATA’s bowling was the performance of wrist-spinner Zahid Mehmood, who returned figures of 29.5-5-99-5.

BAHAWALPUR v ABBOTTABAD

Imran Randhawa registered figures of 14-4-26-5, while Mohammad Azab snapped up three for 43 as Abbottabad were skittled out for 166 in reply to Bahawalpur’s 399. After being forced to follow on, Abbottabad produced a better batting performance, reaching 155 for three when the match ended.

Abbottabad’s Fakhar Zaman followed up his 38 in the first innings with 61 in the second.

FAISALABAD v KARACHI
An epic 172 by opener Hassan Raza was the highlight of the drawn Faisalabad versus Karachi match. Resuming his innings on 72 in Faisalabad’s 198 for four in reply to Karachi’s 477, Hassan was the last batter to be dismissed with the total at 354.

Hassan’s 239-ball innings over six hours was laced with 22 fours and a six. He fell to fast bowler Mir Hamza, who finished with three for 103, while Mushtaq Ahmad bagged three for 88.

When the match ended, Karachi were 173 for six in their second innings. Saim Ayub followed up his 63 in the first innings with 73 in the second from 84 balls, including nine fours and three sixes.

Scores in brief (Day 4 of 4, round 1 – no play on day 1 due to rain and bad weather):

At Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Toss Abbottabad. Result: Match drawn

BAHAWALPUR 399 all-out, 95.3 overs (Mohammad Ammar 105, Muhammad Imran 66, Israr Hussain 3-78, Shahnawaz Dahani 3-86, Mohammad Adil 3-89) v ABBOTTABAD 166 all-out, 44.3overs (Imran Randhawa 5-26, Mohammad Azab 3-43) and 155-3 (Fakhar Zaman 61, Shahzaib Khan 48)

At Marghzar Cricket Ground, Islamabad. Toss Faisalabad. Result: Match drawn

KARACHI BLUES 477 all-out, 115.3 overs (Danish Aziz 155, Haroon Arshad 101, M Ghazi Ghori 83, Saim Ayub 63; Faham-ul-Haq 3-59, Ahmed Safi Abdullah 3-102) and 173-6 (Saim Ayub 79, Ahmad Safi Abdullah 4-31) v FAISALABAD 354 all-out, 92.4 overs (Hassan Raza 172, M Irfan Khan Niazi 78, Mushtaq Ahmed 3-88, Mir Hamza 3-103)

Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium. Toss: Lahore Whites. Result: Match drawn

ISLAMABAD (256, 76.4 overs. Shamyl Hussain 86; Naseem Shah 5-34) and 158-3 (Abdul Faseeh 75, Faizan Riaz 30 not out) v LAHORE WHITES (301 all-out, 71.4 overs (Hussain Talat 106 not out, Salman Ali Agha 47; Nusrat Ullah 3-71)

At Diamond Cricket Ground, Islamabad. Toss Multan. Result: Match drawn

FATA 273 all-out, 92.4 overs (M Sarwar Bhatti 80, Haseebullah 63, M Wasim Khan 53; Aamer Yamin 5-48) and 39-1 v MULTAN 394 all-out, 102.5 overs (Bismillah Khan 138, Sharoon Siraj 61; Zahid Mehmood 5-99)

At Imran Khan Cricket Stadium. Toss Peshawar. Result: Match drawn

PESHAWAR 376-5 dec., 102.4 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 123 not out, Mohammad Haris 100 not out, Waqar Ahmed 67) v SIALKOT 156-3, 29 overs (Mohsin Riaz 67, Azan Awais 52 not out)

Complete scorecards available at https://tinyurl.com/mrmkhwar