Shahid Iqbal claims career-best 8 for 52

Karachi, Jan 14: Lanky medium-pacer Shahid Iqbal grabbed career-best eight for 52 on an eventful second day of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship match between Karachi Whites and Gujranwala at the National Stadium here on Friday.

After the first day of the match was abandoned with a ball being bowled on Thursday because of damp conditions, Shahid's superb performance with the ball saw Gujranwala fold up for 214 in their first innings.

However, the visitors hit back in the closing overs to claim two Karachi Whites wickets for 33 with right-arm fast-medium bowler Irfan Butt making an impressive debut by picking up both the scalps, including Zeeshan Siddiqui with the penultimate ball of the day.

Irfan was extremely unlucky not to join a rare select band when his fellow pacer Imran Amin failed to take a simple catch offered by lefthander Kamran Hussain on the long-leg boundary off Irfan's maiden delivery in first-class cricket.

Kamran was later forced to leave the field with a painful left shoulder at the total of 19 without loss. Earlier, after being sent in on a pitch which appears to be rather spongy, Gujranwala did quite well to reach 214 after tottering at 133 for seven.

Left-hander Aamir Butt led the recovery with 55 off 94 balls in 114 minutes. He hit four fours and one six off spinner Rizwan Qureshi. Aamir and skipper Hafiz Khalid added 79 for the eighth wicket in 76 minutes. Wicket-keeper Khalid contributed an invaluable 37 off 47 balls with six boundaries.

Apart from Aamir and Khalid, only Ataullah Junior batted with greater application to make 36 off 70 balls with six fours in a stay of 93 minutes.

Shiraz Hyder, also troubled by no-ball problems, had the distinction of claiming the first wicket at this level in Pakistan in the new millennium when he clean bowled debutante opener Mudassar Mushtaq for 14. But the day belonged to Shahid Iqbal, whose previous best innings figures were six fo 77 while playing for Hyderabad against Lahore City at Lahore several seasons ago.