A round-up of the first round of Qaid-e-Azam trophy matches

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Dec-2012
ScorecardLahore Shalimar bowled out Karachi Whites for well under 200 twice in the game, helped by Aizaz Cheema’s ten wickets, to set to up a crushing ten-wicket win.With Fawad Alam’s 53 the only significant contribution, Whites could only manage 170 in their first innings after choosing to bat, as Cheema ran through the middle and lower order to claim 6 for 62. Then, Shalimar’s top order all got into double digits to make sure they took charge. They finished with a lead of 84, which was amplified when their bowlers knocked over both Whites’ openers for ducks in their second gig.Whites were still trailing by 30 runs, and had lost four wickets when they started the third day. They took the lead, but kept losing wickets, the last six falling for 47, to finish at 142. Zia-ul-Haq got rid of both the set batsmen – Saad Ali and Saeed Bin Nasir – and only three of them reached double figures.Lahore Shalimar achieved their target of 59 without losing a wicket, and took nine points from the match.
ScorecardLack of time prevented Karachi Blues from achieving a win against Quetta, in a one-sided contest in Karachi. The Blues, however, received three points, owing to a first-innings lead of 260. This was made possible through centuries by opener Khurram Manzoor and captain Faisal Iqbal, and eight wickets claimed by spinners Azam Hussain and Misbah Khan. By then, the match was well into its third day, and the Blues, despite declaring their second innings at 14 for 1, couldn’t take more than three wickets in Quetta’s chase, which was called off after 74.3 overs on the final day.Besides the knock of 162 by Manzoor and 117 by Iqbal, there were two half-centuries and a knock of 49, as the Blues strung together some useful partnerships. The third-wicket stand between Manzoor and Iqbal was worth 196 runs, and despite a few quick wickets falling thereafter, the seventh-wicket stand of 96 runs between Akbar-ur-Rahman and Tanvir Ahmed pushed their score towards 500.On the contrary, Quetta kept losing wickets regularly. Badar Ali and Taimur Ali scored half-centuries, but no one else provided any resistance as Azam and Misbah ran through the line-up. Blues only played five overs in the second innings, to give themselves time to bowl the opposition out, but that ultimately wasn’t enough. Ali Asad, with 63, led Quetta to 127 for 3 before the match was declared a draw.
ScorecardFog and rain disrupted two days of cricket at the Iqbal stadium, with neither side completing an innings, a draw was the only possible result. Faisalabad appeared to be, marginally, the better side of the two, though, as they scored 120 for 4 in reply to Bahawalpur’s first-innings total of 181.Bahawalpur, put in to bat, fell apart after a 64-run opening stand, with quicks Naseer Akram and Ehsan Adil chipping away at the batting order, taking eight wickets between them. Faisalabad replied positively, despite two bursts of quick wickets, and ended the third day looking good to go past Bahawalpur’s total. But that couldn’t happen.
ScorecardA spirited fourth-innings century by Rizwan Ahmed helped Hyderabad secure a draw against Abbottabad at the Niaz Stadium. After low first-innings total by both teams, Abbottabad scored 275 to give Hyderabad a stiff target to chase. Despite a shaky start, they eventually lost only four wickets, till the match was declared a draw.A knock of 84 from captain Yasir Hameed was the only one of note in Abbottabad’s first innings. Spinners Zahi Mahmood and Shoaib Laghari took eight of their wickets. But Hyderabad couldn’t back this bowling performance with effective batting. They lost their first five wickets for 48 runs and, although Mir Ali’s 66 provided them with some respite, their last four wickets fell for 11 runs, to be bowled out for 170.Abbottabad consolidated their lead through a collective batting effort, with Hameed and Yasir Shah scoring fifties, and three other batsmen scoring more than 34 runs. They sniffed victory when two of Hyderabad’s batsmen were dismissed cheaply. Two productive stands followed, and Rizwan Ahmed and Mir Ali featured in an unbeaten stand of 119, to thwart Abbottabad.
ScorecardShehzad Azam bowled Islamabad to a convincing 71-run victory over Multan to take them to the top of the points table in Group I. After the first two days were lost to rain and fog, both the teams mutually agreed to forfeit their first innings and played only their second innings in order to achieve a result.Islamabad were put in to bat on the third day and lost half their team for 83 before 23-year old Shan Masood, who fell short of his third first-class century by a run, took the team to a respectable total of 209.Multan were left with the fourth day to chase 210 but collapsed to 138 within 44 overs, falling to the medium-pace attack of Islamabad led by Shehzad Azam who dismissed five out of the top seven batsmen. Only Rizwan Haider showed some resistance once wickets started falling with a quick-fire half-century which included eight fours and a six.
ScorecardThe Group I fixture between Sialkot and Lahore Ravi ended in a draw which saw only 74 overs being bowled after three days out of four were lost due to rain. These two teams also agreed to play only their second innings, but the fourth day was not enough to produce a result.After Sialkot were put in to bat, they declared at their score of 117 for 1, scoring at less than two runs per over. Ravi were not left with much time to bat and when they were at 28 for 1 after 11 overs, the match ended in a draw and the two teams received two points each.