Hussain's five gives Habib Bank upper hand

Habib Bank Limited (HBL) took a crucial 93-run first-innings lead over Pakistan Customs, on the second day of their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match at the National Bank of Pakistan stadium. Trying to overhaul HBL's total of 289, the Pakistan Customs middle order faltered and were bowled out for 196. By the close of play, the HBL openers had knocked off 65 runs in 16 overs to take the overall lead to 158 with ten wickets in hand.

After useful contributions from two England county players, Pakistan Customs lost three wickets on the same score to slump to 114 for 6. Derbyshire's Rawait Khan scored 46 off 92 balls with six fours while Bilal Shafayat of Northamptonshire contributed 38 runs off 112 balls with four fours and a six. Raees Amjad hit a brisk 38 off 35 balls, left-arm medium-pacer Kamran Hussain ran through the rest and finished with 5 for 30. Legspinner Danish Kaneria took 2 for 77 off 26 overs.

In HBL's second innings, Taufeeq Umar hammered an unbeaten 41 off 48 balls with seven fours. While the tournament started on Saturday with seven matches, the two games in Karachi and one in Hyderabad involving Karachi Whites were postponed by a day, following Thursday's bomb blasts.

Karachi White's openers led a spirited reply to Hyderabad's first-innings score of 409 on the second day of their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match at the Niaz Stadium. Shan Masood and Asad Shafiq, both making their first-class debut, made 101 in 24 overs. Shafiq hit 63 off 72 balls with nine fours while the Pakistan Under-19 vice-captain Masood faced 38 deliveries for his 32.

Resuming on 227 for 3, Hyderabad lost Rizwan Ahmed early. He added only one run to his overnight score of 100. Shahid Qambrani added 55 for the fifth wicket with Zahid Khan (37) and another 86 for the sixth wicket with captain Hanif Malik (24). Qambrani missed out on his seventh first-class hundred by just two runs when he was dismissed for 98 off 148 balls. For Karachi Whites, captain Mohammad Sami took 3 for 82. Offspinner Tabish Nawab went wicketless on Sunday, finished with 5 for 124 in 44.1 overs.

Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) took a 195-run lead in the first innings against Lahore Ravi on the third day at the LCCA Ground in Lahore. After bowling out Lahore Ravi for 251 on the opening day, WAPDA scored 446 before being all out. By stumps, Lahore Ravi were 101 for 4 in their second innings, needing 94 runs to avoid an innings defeat. Middle-order batsman Bilal Khilji got his sixth first-class hundred, scoring 127 not out off 233 balls with 19 fours. His fifth-wicket stand with Aamer Sajjad (88) produced 112 runs.

At the Sports Stadium in Sargodha, Multan appeared to be playing for a draw, reaching 271 for 6 in their first innings. Faisalabad had earlier scored 402 and Multan avoided the follow-on, but they were trailing by 131 runs.

The match between Sialkot and National Bank of Pakistan at the Jinnah Stadium was drawn after efforts to start the game afresh on Monday on a different pitch proved futile. The new pitch was still being prepared yesterday. Earlier the match had to be halted during Sialkot's first innings due to "misbehaviour of the pitch".

Karachi Blues were tottering at 174 for 9 in reply to Rawalpindi's first-innings total of 234, on the second day of their Group B Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match at the United Bank Limited ground. Their situation would have been worse if not for an unbroken 43-run stand for the last wicket between Faraz Patel and Malik Aftab after Karachi Blues had plummeted to 131 for 9. Patel's 62 off 195 balls was his highest first-class score while Aftab battled for over an hour for 15 off 50 balls. Karachi blues, however, were still trailing 60 runs.

Earlier, former Test batsman Shadab Kabir scored 47 off 111 balls which included three fours. Fast bowler Rizwan Akbar took 4 for 47 and rattled the Karachi batsmen as five wickets fell inside 30 runs. Left-arm seamer Mohammad Ayaz and Babar Naeem, with his slow left-arm spin, picked up two wickets each.

Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) took a 30-run lead against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) at the KRL Stadium. Fast bowlers Yasir Arafat and Jaffer Nazir captured four wickets each for 69 and 51 runs respectively and bowled out ZTBL for 275. By stumps, KRL scored 75 for 2 in the second innings and extended their lead to 105. Playing for KRL, Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar captured 1 for 49 in 17 overs.

Nawaz Ahmed scored his maiden first-class century as Peshawar piled up 411 for 7 in reply to Lahore Shalimar's 246 before declaring at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in another Group B match. Nawaz hit 109 off 199 balls with 16 fours and a six. Three other batsmen made half-centuries as Peshawar took a 165-run lead. The Lahore openers replied with an unbeaten stand of 108.

Left with 134 runs to record an outright victory, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) were 30 for no loss by the close of play in their Group B match against Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) at the Sheikhupura Stadium.

Abbottabad wiped out their 42-run deficit and scored 299 in the second innings against Islamabad at Diamond Cricket Club Ground. Islamabad required 258 runs to win the Group B match on the final day.