Asad, Omair centuries propel Sindh to 289/4 in first innings against SP

Karachi: Sindh’s captain Asad Shafiq and opener Omair Bin Yousuf scored centuries against Southern Punjab on Day 1 of the fourth round in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy here at National Stadium.

Sindh finished on 289 for four at the close of play. Omair is unbeaten at 129 while Saad Ali is batting at 11.

Earlier, Asad won the toss and opted to bat first. SP’s Zia-ul-Haq bowled a brilliant opening spell as he removed openers Sharjeel Khan (5) and Jaahid Ali (3). He returned two for 41 from his 14 overs.

Last match hero for Sindh, Saud Shakeel (9) was removed by Bilawal Bhatti. Asad joined Omair in the middle where they absorbed the pressure and batted with great composure.

Asad and Omair posted a 228-run stand for the fourth wicket. Asad scored 123 from 195 balls before getting retired hurt. He smashed 17 fours while the 21-year-old Omair hit 11 fours from the 210 balls he faced.

Sindh has gathered two bonus points for batting, while Southern Punjab, who are at the top of the table, added a bonus point for bowling.

On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bowled out Central Punjab for just 158 in 66.2 overs at the UBL Sports Complex.

CP struggled from the start as they dealt a blow on the first ball of the match. Ali Zaryab was trapped in front by Imran Khan Snr.

Imran added two more wickets to his name and returned three for 29 from 13 overs. Off-spinner Sajid Khan’s impressive run in the competition continued as he took four wickets by giving away 56 runs in 26 overs.

He removed CP’s captain Usman Salahuddin (54), Mohammad Saad (four), Ali Shan (nine) and Bilawal Iqbal (0).

The only recognized batsman Usman struck four boundaries in his 145-ball inning. CP’s bowlers staged a good comeback as Waqas Maqsood and Bilal Asif took two wickets each.

KP finished on 61 for four at the end of the day’s play. Openers Musadiq Ahmed (22) and Israrullah (25) contributed 42 runs for the first wicket before they lost three wickets for mere seven runs.

As KP dismissed the opposition under 200 runs and inside 100 over, they gathered six points while CP added one for their bowling.

At NBP Sports Complex, Balochistan posted 257-5 against Northern. Opener Azeem Ghumman missed out on his 11th first-class century as he was removed spinner Mohammad Nawaz on 95. Azeem faced 233 balls and struck eight boundaries.

Earlier, Northern captain Nauman Ali opted to bowl first. Azeem posted a crucial 105-run second-wicket partnership with Ali Waqas, who scored 52.

Balochistan’s captain Imran Farhat was the first man to get dismissed on 24. Nauman finished the day with three for 70.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Bismillah Khan and Ayaz Tasawar will resume the innings for Balochistan on Saturday at 26 not out and 14 not out.

Read: Quaid-e-Azam Trophy rolls into fourth round tomorrow

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