Anwar Ali four-for puts PIA on top

Group A

	Younis Khan scored 71 to help Habib Bank Limited recover © AFP

Anwar Ali's 4 for 81 put Pakistan International Airlines in control after they bowled out National Bank of Pakistan for 213 in Karachi. He was backed up well by fellow seamers Fazl-e-Akbar and Najaf Shah, who took five wickets between them, to prevent NBP from building substantial partnerships. PIA struck early after opting to field first, with Najaf dismissing Salman Butt and Umar Amin off consecutive deliveries. A 55-run stand between Nasir Jamshed and Namanullah followed, but persistent breakthroughs from PIA seamers prevented any threatening stand from taking root. Jamshed fell to Tahir Khan for 45 and Namanullah was trapped in front by Anwar with the score on 111. Fawad Alam resisted with 45, but NBP kept losing wickets at the other end, with the last five accounting for just 33 runs. PIA began will in their reply, but their advantage was undermined somewhat with the loss of two quick wickets, that of Yasir Hammed and Tahir Khan to left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Aamer at the stroke of stumps. They finished the day on 52 for 2.

Habib Bank recovered from a precarious 42 for 4, thanks to three consecutive half-century partnerships, to finish a hard-fought day against Pakistan Customs in Karachi at 232 for 6, with the opposition still having a slight edge. Pakistan Customs justified their decision to field first, with left-arm spinner Mohammad Hussain - who took 3 for 47 - initiating a collapse where Habib Bank lost four wickets for eight runs. But captain Younis Khan, who made 71, led the recovery, adding 78 with Khaqan Arsal for the fifth wicket, which fell with the score on 120. But Habib Bank fought on despite that setback, as Kamran Hussain, who was unbeaten on 51, was involved in two important partnerships, adding 56 for the sixth wicket, and as many for the ongoing seventh with wicketkeeper Farhan Iqbal.

Mohammad Kashif, the left-arm fast bowler, bagged four wickets to put Sui Southern Gas Corporation in control against Karachi Whites at the Quaid-e-Azam Park, limiting them to 258 for 8 at stumps. Karachi Whites were put under pressure immediately, with Kashif removing both openers with the score under 10, and then having Ali Asad caught-behind to leave the opposition struggling at 48 for 3. Asim Kamal and Afsar Nawaz then added 105, but Karachi again lost their way, losing five wickets for 65 to slip to 218 for 8, with the legspinner Dilawar Khan taking two wickets. However, in a day of collapses and rearguard recoveries, the ninth-wicket pair of Javed Mansoor, who was unbeaten on 40, and Sharjeel Khan added 40 to take their team past 250 before the umpires called stumps.

Water and Power Development Authority squandered a dominant position provided to them by a 102-run fourth-wicket stand between Aamer Sajjad and Bilal Khilji, to finish the day on even terms with Khan Research Laboratories in Rawalpindi. Khilji remained unbeaten on 59, but Sajjad fell for 78, lbw to fast bowler Jaffer Nazir, when WPDA had recovered from an uneasy 85 for 3 to 187. But they then lost two wickets in relatively quick succession, Sajjad, followed by Ali Azmat for 18, as KRL closed the gap in the dying moments of the day. Fast bowlers Akhtar Ayub and Yasir Ali took two wickets each as their team finished on a satisfactory note at stumps.

On a truncated day at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground, Lahore Shalimar batted at a snail's pace to reach 95 for 2 in 48.3 overs against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited. Openers Ahmed Dar and Abid Ali got off to a sound start after being put in, adding 44. Mohammad Khalil delivered the first breakthrough, having Dar caught-behind for 28, before Abid and Junaid Malik put on a further 41. They progressed very slowly, with Abid recording a strike-rate of 27.02 before being trapped lbw by left-arm spinner Zohaib Khan. Suleman Khan, the No.4 batsman, was even slower, remaining unbeaten on 3 off 34 balls, to end the day's grind.

Jamal Anwar and Rashid Latif added an unbeaten 86 for the eighth-wicket to help Rawalpindi dent Abbottabad's advantage on the first day of the second round in Islamabad. Rashid Mansoor, the offspinner, was Abbottabad's main performer, taking 3 for 43, and ending a 60-run stand for the second wicket between Babar Naeem and Awais Zia, who top scored with 80. He was well supported by left-arm spinners Noor-ul-Amin and Khalid Usman, who took three wickets between them, as Abbottabad lost five wickets for 50 runs to collapse to 171 for 7. Just as they were being made to rue the decision to bat first, their eighth-wicket pair led the recovery, with Latif, playing aggressively, striking four boundaries and a six in his 66-ball 42.

Faisalabad dominated on their home turf at the Iqbal Stadium, riding on a four-wicket haul by Zulqarnain to dismiss Hyderabad for 179, and then batting with aggression to reach 78 for no loss in 16 overs at stumps. Hyderabad struggled to build partnerships - the highest was 45 for the second wicket - as the home team made frequent inroads to trigger a collapse. Hyderabad, reasonably well-placed at 109 for 3, lost their next seven wickets for just 70 as each of the Faisalabad bowlers did their bit. Ahmed Hayat provided the opening breakthrough, and Zeeshan Asif and Saadat Munir took five wickets between them, to precipitate a Hyderabad capitulation with Zulqarnain delivering from the other end. Faisal Athar was Hyderabad's top scorer with 47, but his team is up against it with all Faisalabad wickets still intact.

Sialkot gained the edge over Karachi Blues at the National Stadium in Karachi, bowling them out for 226 in 67 overs after they had been sitting pretty at 99 for 1. Nayyer Abbas took four wickets and medium-pacer Sarmad Anwar chipped in with three as Karachi threw away their early advantage, losing five wickets for ten runs to be struggling at 109 for 6. Their lower-order helped them recover, with wicketkeeper Mohammad Hasan, who scored 62, and Babar Rahman putting on 70 for the seventh wicket. But Abbas then took two wickets as Karachi could only manage a few more to be bowled out, but with enough overs remaining to have a shot at the Sialkot batsmen. They removed openers Kamran Younis and Naeemuddin to give the visiting team some early jitters before Bilal Hussain and Nadeem Javed batted the remaining overs to see their team through to 53 for 2 at stumps.