Karachi: Mohammad Nawaz (73) and Hammad Azam (64) guided Northern to post 319-9 against Sindh on Day 1 of the third round in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy here at UBL Sports Complex.
The left-hand-right-hand batting combination helped Northern take a strong grip over the match as they both scored 79 runs together.
Earlier, it was Umer Amin who supported his team’s inning after they lost three consecutive wickets for just 26 runs. Umer, with the help of six boundaries and a six, scored 62 runs off 129 balls.
Skipper Nauman Ali and Waqas Ahmed were not out for 15 and 18 runs respectively when Northern ended the opening day at 319-9.
From Sindh, Sohail Khan and Tabish Khan bagged three wickets each while Fawad Alam took two wickets for 24 runs. Ashiq Ali also took a scalp for 93 runs.
In another Round 3 match at the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) Sports Complex, Adil Amin drove Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) to 261-6 against Southern Punjab (SP) by scoring unbeaten 90 runs off 181 balls with the help of nine boundaries and two sixes.
Musaddiq Ahmed scored 41 off 55 balls laced with six boundaries and a six while Zohaib Khan made 23 off 84 balls. Khalid Usman (6*) and Sajid Khan (4*) remained not out.
Mohammad Abbas was the pick of the bowler for SP as the right-handed medium-pacer bagged four wickets. Mohammad Irfan and Salman Ali Agha took a wicket each.
At National Stadium Karachi (NSK), Balochistan closed the opening day at 239-6 against Central Punjab (CP) with Taimur Ali being not out for 59 off 115 balls. Earlier, it were Imran Butt (53) and Ali Waqas (75) who laid a solid foundation for their team.
For CP, Waqas Maqsood bagged three wickets while Bilawal Iqbal and Ehsan Adil shared a wicket apiece.