Centuries by Zain Abbas and Haseebullah gave Multan a head-start against Lahore Blues at the Gaddafi Stadium Lahore on the first day of the sixth round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QEAT) 2023-24.
Imran Butt-led Lahore Blues won the toss and elected to field first at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Zain Abbas (118, 174b, 11x4s, 1×6) and Haseebullah (101, 222b, 6x4s) both produced centuries, giving Multan a solid start to their innings.
Sharoon Siraj (42 not out, 52b, 8x4s) was the other contributor with the bat. Ali Shafiq, Qasim Akram and Kashif Bhatti got a wicket each. At stumps, Multan was 315 for three after batting for 82.5 overs.
At Pindi Stadium, Faisalabad began their batting innings after bowling out Peshawar for 216 in 72.2 overs in the sixth-round QEAT fixture.
After winning the toss at Pindi Stadium, Faisalabad chose to bowl first. Solid knocks by Kamran Ghulam (64, 125b, 10x4s), Israrullah (55, 118b, 5x4s) and skipper Sahibzada Farhan (48, 76b, 8x4s) helped the side get to 216 in 72.2 overs, before they were bowled out.
Mohammad Ali was the pick of the bowlers for Faisalabad, returning with a five-fer. He was supported by Khurram Shahzad, who got three wickets.
In return, Faisalabad made eight runs and lost one wicket in the five overs they batted for.
Rawalpindi ended the day opening day of the fifth round of QEAT under pressure after losing five wickets for only 116 runs against Karachi Whites at the Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi.
Rawalpindi were put to bat first after Karachi Whites won the toss. During the rain-delayed day, Karachi Whites managed to bowl 38 overs, which allowed the batting side to put 114 runs on the board while losing five wickets.
Captain Umar Amin (32, 62b, 2x4s) and allrounder Mubasir Khan (26, 54b, 3x4s) were the major run-scorers.
Mir Hamza got two wickets while Tabish Khan, Noman Ali and Rameesh Aziz returned with a wicket each.
At Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Lahore Whites dominated FATA in the sixth-round QEAT match after bowling them out for just 97 in the first innings.
Lahore Whites won the toss and invited FATA to bat first. It worked in their favour as the Saad Naseem-led side bowled out FATA in 26 overs in which they scored just 97 runs.
Skipper Khushdil Shah was the highest scorer for the side, producing 21 runs from 27 balls including four boundaries. Ahmed Bashir got six wickets while Aamer Jamal grabbed three wickets.
In response, Lahore Whites scored 66 runs at the loss of one wicket, in 17 overs. Ali Zaryab (40, 59b, 7x4s) was the highest scorer for Lahore. Asif Afridi was the only FATA bowler to pick a wicket.
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