The resurgent Central Punjab side took charge on the first day of the Quaid-e-Azam (QeA) Trophy final against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, after a late flurry of wickets undid the cautious effort displayed by the batsmen during the majority of the day, at the National Stadium in Karachi, to leave the KP side struggling at 285 for the loss of seven wickets at stumps.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa captain Khalid Usman won the toss and elected to bat first on a batting friendly pitch at the National Stadium against the resurgent Central Punjab, led by fast-bowler Hasan Ali.
After a cautious start, opener Fakhar Zaman was the first to depart, courtesy of a caught behind by wicketkeeper Ali Shan off the bowling of fast-bowler Waqas Maqsood, after scoring just 17 runs off 35 deliveries.
Maqsood then quickly bowled wicketkeeper-batsman Rehan Afridi (3 off 6 deliveries) to reduce the KP side to a scoreline of 43 runs for the loss of two wickets.
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Opener Israrullah, however, refused to be bogged down by the fall of two quick wickets and continued his breezy knock packed full of exquisite shots. The opener scored at a brisk rate, by first-class standards, to a personal score of 61 runs off 69 balls with the help of 10 fours.
Off-spinner Qasim Akram finally got the better of the quick-scoring batsman after the latter was caught behind by wicketkeeper Ali Shan before he could convert his score into a significant one.
Batsmen Kamran Ghulam and Adil Amin then combined for a massive 132-run partnership to make sure Israrullah’s efforts at the top did not go in vain.
Ghulam was cautious against the good deliveries while cashing in on any mistakes by the Central Punjab bowlers. The batsman made 76 runs of 130 deliveries with a majority of his runs coming through the 15 fours he hit during his knock.
Left-arm spinner Ahmed Safi Abdullah finally got rid of Ghulam as wicketkeeper Ali Shan completed his third catch of the day.
Batsman Zohaib Khan joined Amin who continued his cautious vigil scoring 75 runs off 202 deliveries with the help of 10 fours.
Skipper Hasan Ali however re-energised his side after breaching Amin’s defenses and rattling his stumps late in the day. Batsmen Khalid Usman (3 runs off 14 deliveries) and Sajid Khan (6 runs off 12 deliveries) soon followed, removed by bowlers Bilawal Iqbal and Hasan Ali respectively in quick succession.
Zohaib Khan remained unbeaten at stumps after scoring 29 runs off 80 deliveries.
Bowler Waqas Maqsood took two wickets at the top while bowling 17 overs at the expense of 49 runs, whereas skipper Hasan Ali took two wickets late in the day after bowling 19.2 overs at the expense of 57 runs.