Maqsood five-for sinks Peshawar

Tahir Maqsood's five-wicket haul gave Multan the upper hand over Peshawar as the visitors were bowled out for a below-par 217 at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Maqsood took his first two wickets for consecutive balls to reduce Peshawar to 5 for 2. The innings' top-scorer Fawad Ali (71) and Sajjad Ahmed (30) then added 85 and Azam Jan chipped in with 48. However the lower order failed to contribute at all. Maqsood took the last three wickets with only 16 added to the score. Rizwan Haider and Zulfiqar Babar took two wickets each.

Half-centuries by the top three Faisalabad batsmen took their side to 259 for 5 on the first day of their match against Rawalpindi at the Iqbal Stadium. Imran Ali and Usama Shahroon added 98 for the first wicket before Shaharoon was run out for 54. Zeeshan Asif then partnered Ali in a 48-run stand in which he scored 71 off 126 balls. Nineteen-year-old right-arm fast bowler Mohammad Rameez dismissed both Asif and Ali while Sadaf Hussain and Rashid Latif took one apiece.

Karachi Blues did better than Faisalabad reaching 299 for 2 through unbeaten centuries by Asad Shafiq and Wajihuddin against Hyderabad in Mirpur Khas. Karachi lost their first wicket for 14 when Shahzaib Hasan was caught off Mir Ali for 2. Khalid Latif scored 39 before being caught of Pir Zulfiqar with the score at 69. After that Shafiq and Wajihuddin took Karachi to a dominant position. Wajihuddin's 108 included 15 fours while Shafiq's 125 contained 13 fours.

Mohammad Irshad's three wickets kept Abbottabad to 236 for 5 against Lahore Ravi in Muridke. Irshad took two of the first three wickets to reduce Abbottabad to 78 for 3. Ghulam Mohammad (72) and Adnan Raees (64) then led a recovery, adding 93 for the fourth wicket. However the two fell in quick succession - Ghulam edged a catch to the keeper off Irshad and Raees was trapped leg before by Aamer Hayat - to leave Lahore an uphill task to achieve a sizeable total.

Ashar Zaidi's unbeaten 145 gave Islamabad hope of reaching a dominant total after they lost the first five wickets for 80 against Sialkot at the Jinnah Stadium. Islamabad lost three wickets for nine runs before Zaidi was joined by Naeem Anjum (62*) and the pair went on to ruin Sialkot's early efforts by adding 211 for the fifth wicket. Sialkot used eight bowlers in a futile attempt to break the stand. Zaidi's 145 came of just 163 balls and included 21 fours while Anjum's 62 came of 137 balls with seven fours.

Habib Bank Limited's Irfan Fazil and Abdur Rahman took seven wickets between them as Pakistan Customs were bowled out for 238 in Islamabad. Only a 126-run stand between Rameez Aziz and Yasir Hussain prevented Customs from folding for much less. Aziz came to the crease with Customs at 50 for 3 and lost two partners with only 14 added to the total. Then he rebuilt the innings with Hussain before Fazil bowled him for a 90-ball 61. Hussain was bowled by Rahman soon after for a 136-ball 74.

Rao Iftikhar Anjum took 5 for 44 as Karachi Whites were bowled out for 232 against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited in Karachi. Murtaza Majeed and Afsar Nawaz scored half-centuries but no other batsman managed to score more than 36. The last five wickets fell for 50 runs. Mohammad Khalil took two wickets while Azhar Attari, Rehan Riaz and Zohaib Khan took one each. At stumps ZTBL trailed by 212 runs with ten wickets in hand.

No such collapse at the Gaddafi Stadium where Khan Research Laboratories racked up 328 for 3 against Lahore Shalimar on the back of centuries by Saeed Anwar jnr and Mohammad Wasim. Anwar scored 44 of the 55 runs added for the first wicket with Azhar Ali. He then added 124 with Wasim. Anwar's 126 included 21 fours while Wasim's unbeaten 110 included 17 fours. Wasim and Bazid Khan will look to score the second century-stand of the innings - they need 15 - when they resume batting on day two.

Mohammad Hafeez and Ali Waqas scored half-centuries but Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited slipped to 227 for 6 against Pakistan International Airlines in Gujranwala. Hafeez and Hamza Mubeen added 67 for the first wicket before Aizaz Cheema had Mubeen caught for 17. Hafeez fell soon after becoming the first of Anwar Ali's three wickets. SNGPL fell to 127 for 6 before Waqas (80*) and Adnan Akmal (40*) added 90 unbeaten runs to take them to a reasonable score at stumps.

Sui Southern Gas Corporation fared just a little better, reaching 237 for 4 against Water and Power Development at the Sheikhupura Stadium. Wajid Ali (66) and Saeed Bin Nasir (73*) made half-centuries but the rest of the SSGC top-order batsmen made no significant contributions to the total.