Group A
Pakistan International Airlines decimated Karachi Whites on the first day at the National Stadium. Karachi, put in, were shot out for 65, and in reply PIA racked up a lead of 108 for the loss of one wicket. Afsar Nawaz was the only Karachi batsman to go past 10. Fazl-e-Akbar struck the first blow, before Najaf Shah (4-30) and Anwar Ali (5-18) ran through the opposition. Yasir Hameed powered PIA into the lead, smashing 78 off 84 balls, including 15 fours, in a opening stand of 116. Khurram Manzoor (51) and Fahad Iqbal (37) were unbeaten as PIA reached 173 for 1 at stumps.Rizwan Ahmed’s unbeaten 97 helped Khan Research Laboratories recover from a mini-collapse to close the day at 242 for 6 against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited in Rawalpindi. KRL progressed to 73 for 1 after being asked to bat, but lost three wickets for four runs. Rizwan shared partnerships of 47 for the fifth wicket and 44 for the sixth before adding an unbroken 74 runs with wicketkeeper Zulfiqar Jan (24). Rizwan finished three short of his second first-class century, hitting 12 fours and a six.Sui Southern Gas Corporation progressed steadily after Pakistan Customs chose to field at the Quaid-e-Azam Park in Karachi. SSGC ended the day at 230 for 4, but their top order will be disappointed at not being able to convert their starts. All of their top four reached 20 but captain Saeed Bin Nasir was the only batsman to go past 50 – he made 52. Wajid Ali (48) and Ahmed Zeeshan (27) added an undefeated 59-run stand to cap a combined team effort with the bat.A poor start and finish saw National Bank of Pakistan fold for 209, but two quick strikes from their opening bowlers left the match interestingly poised at stumps on the first day at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex in Karachi. Put in by last season’s finalists Habib Bank Limited, NBP slipped to 35 for 3, but Umar Amin (49) and Fawad Alam (54) helped them recover to 139 for 4. No. 6 Qaiser Abbas then made an unbeaten 50, but he did not get much support from the lower middle-order and the tail as NBP were dismissed for 209 – the last three wickets fell for seven runs. Mohammad Talha and Mohammad Aamer then struck to remove HBL’s openers. HBL will begin the second day 198 runs in the red.No play was possible on the first day between Water and Power Development Authority and defending champions Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in Sheikhupura.
Group B
Left-arm medium-pacer Armaghan Elahi gave Abottabad’s campaign a near-perfect start when he took 9 for 38 to bundle Peshawar out for 66 at the Arbab Niaz Stadium. It was all Elahi after offspinner Rashid Mansoor took the first wicket. Mohammad Idrees was the only Peshawar batsman to reach double-digits. Peshawar’s innings lasted only 26.5 overs, with Elahi bowling unchanged. Abottabad’s batsmen consolidated the advantage by reaching 227 for 4, with help from an unbeaten 94 by opener Ghulam Mohammad and a 69 from Fawad Khan.Karachi Blues finished day one on 274 for 6 against Quetta at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex. Captain Shadab Kabir top scored with 91 and added 157 for the second wicket with Mohammad Faheem (50). Quetta’s bowlers made frequent breakthroughs after that stand but No. 6 Sheharyar Ghani remained unbeaten on 38 to ensure Karachi didn’t let the initiative slip.Islamabad lost quick wickets on either side of a 85-run fifth-wicket partnership between Ali Sarfraz (64) and Zohaib Ahmed to slide to 216 for 8 against Rawalpindi at the Diamond Club Ground. After being sent in, Nasir Malik’s double-strike reduced them to 17 for 2. Captain Raheel Majeed and Asadullah Sumari then added 44 but two more wickets fell in the space of 16 runs. Sarfraz and Sumari then steadied Islamabad but yet another pair of quick wickets, this time to Rashid Latif, left them at 164 for 6 before Rauf Akbar’s run-a-ball 33 lifted them past 200.Only 21 overs were bowled on the first day of the match between Faisalabad and Lahore Ravi at the Gaddafi Stadium. Faisalabad’s decision to field first yielded results when they reduced the home team to 45 for 3, with only Ashfaq Ahmed (26) making it past 10.No play was possible on the first day between Multan and Hyderabad.
