Lahore, 16 September 2023: Rain delayed the start of Quetta’s first game of the season, resulting in a shortened day of play. Islamabad, carrying their batting prowess from their previous game, keep the Larkana bowlers under pressure after choosing to bat first. A close contest between the bowlers and batters hangs the games in Multan and Rahim Yar Khan in balance.
Hyderabad v DM Jamali
DM Jamali won the toss and elected to bat first on the Rahim Yar Khan pitch. The 88-run-opening-stand gave the side a solid start, Particularly, opener Nasir Khan’s 82 helped the side situate themselves comfortably on the first day of the match.
Nasir was helped by small contributions from his teammates, all of whom scored below 35, but ensured that the scorecard was not stagnant. The side was bowled out for 270 runs.
Hyderabad bowlers countered their opposition quite well, taking wickets periodically. Four wickets by Majid Asghar and two wickets each by Jawad Ali, Mustafa Nasir and Mohammad Asad Malik kept the opposition on their toes.
Trailing by 271 in their first innings, Hyderabad suffered an early blow when one of their openers retired hurt after scoring a run. The other opener was removed after scoring 17 runs.
They ended the day on 38-1, trailing by 233 runs.
Islamabad v Larkana
Islamabad won the toss and elected to bat first on the Muzaffarabad pitch. Despite losing opener Hassan Nawaz for a duck, the side did not falter.
A solid partnership of 211 runs between Ali Imran and Syed Khizer Shah, with both getting centuries, put the side in a dominant position. By the time both Ali and Khizer lost their wickets, Islamabad was comfortably set for another high total in the first innings.
They ended the day on 238 at the loss of three wickets with Rohail Nazir and Sarmad Bhatti on the crease.
Karachi Blues v Abbottabad
Karachi Blues were invited to bat first by Abbottabad, who won the toss at Multan Cricket Stadium. Blues had a faltering start; a 40-run-stand between Imran Shah and Mohammad Taha was the only steady period in the batting until the seventh wicket partnership, which brought back stability to the innings.
Ashiq Ali and Saifullah Bangash, batting together for 51 runs helped the side gain some momentum. Particularly, Saifullah’s half-century gave confidence to the team.
Four wickets each by Israr Hussain and Adil Naz, as well as two wickets by Aitizaz Habib Khan ensured that the batting side remained under pressure throughout. Eventually, they were able to bowl out Karachi for 172 runs.
Abbottabad had an abysmal day with the bat. None of their batters stayed on the crease long enough to make a mark, thereby jeopardizing their chances in the game. Most of their side fell to the right-hander Saqib, who bagged a six-wicket-haul.
At the time of stumps, Abbottabad stood at 46 runs, having lost seven wickets already.
AJK v Quetta
Quetta won the toss and elected to bat first at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium, on the shortened first day. After losing their opener Hazrat Wali early on, Quetta looked to steady their innings.
A partnership of 70 runs between Abdul Wahid Bangalzai and Latif Ullah brought considerable momentum to the batting. Eventually, this partnership was broken by Rohaan Qadri.
At the time of stumps, Mohammad Ibrahim Snr remained on the crease with Abdul Wahid, who was set at the crease at an unbeaten 47.
They ended their day at 105-2 after batting for just 25 overs.
Scores in brief:
Hyderabad v DM Jamali
1st Innings
DM Jamali: 270 all out in 69.1 overs (Nasir Khan 82; Majid Asghar 4-42, Mustafa Nasir 2-50, Mohammad Asad Malik 2-51, Jawad Ali 2-98)
Hyderabad: 38-1 in 16 overs (Salman Khan 17, Rizwan Mehmood 16*; Nasir Khan 1-10)
Islamabad v Larkana
1st Innings
Islamabad: 238-3 in 61 overs (Ali Imran 107, Syed Khizer Shah 105; Asif Ali Jr 1-39, Mushtaq Ahmed Kolhoro 1-44, Aamir Ali Taheem 1-59)
Karachi Blues v Abbottabad
1st Innings
Karachi Blues: 172 all out in 71 overs (Saifullah Bangash 84*, Imran Shah 23; Adil Naz 4-28, Israr Hussain 4-38)
Abbottabad: 46-7 in 17 overs (Khayyam Khan 12*; Afaq Ahmed 12; Saqib 6-22, Mohammad Hamza 1-22)
AJK v Quetta
1st Innings
Quetta 105-2 in 25 overs (Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 47*, Latif Ullah 30; Faizan Saleem 1-18, Rohaan Qadri 1-21).
