KARACHI
\nPakistan Test batter Azhar Ali struck another century as Central Punjab piled up 300 for the loss of three wickets against Northern on the first day of the fourth round of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy at Faisalabad\u2019s Iqbal Stadium on Saturday.
\nAzhar was batting on 130 with Tayyab Tahir on 82 at the other end as the pair put up 168 for the unfinished fourth wicket partnership between them.
\nThe two boosted Central Punjab after Pakistan Test spinner Nauman Ali had picked up two of the three wickets to reduce the former champions to 132-3.
\nAzhar hit 15 fours and a six in his 209-ball innings while Tayyab smashed six boundaries in his 130-ball knock after openers Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Saad departed early.
\nAt the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Kamran Ghulam (89 not out) and Mohammad Sarwar Afridi (79) helped Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recover after Sindh bowlers left them reeling at 128-5. The two batters collaborated for 163 runs for the sixth wicket to take their team to 291-5 by stumps.
\nEarlier, Sahibzada Farhan (53) and Rehan Afridi (47) had added 98 runs for the third wicket to lift the defending championship to 111-2 Sindh pacer Mir Hamza had removed both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa openers.
\nFast bowler Mohammad Umar picked up two wickets after Arbab Ahmed had ended the third wicket partnership by accounting for Rehan.
\nAtt the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Balochistan recovered from 102-3 to finish the day at 225-4 against Southern Punjab. Former Test batter Asad Shafiq saved his side\u2019s blushes when he returned undefeated on 70 off 111.
\nScores in brief:
\nKhyber Pakhtunkhwa 291-5 against Sindh at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
\nKHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA 291-5 in 90 overs (Kamran Ghulam 89 not out, Mohammad Sarwar Afridi 79 not out; Mir Hamza 2-38, Mohammad Umar 2-45)
\nBalochistan 225-4 against Southern Punjab at the Abbotabad Cricket Stadium, Abbotabad
\nBALOCHISTAN 225-4 in 83 overs (Asad Shafiq 70 not out, Ali Waqas 45; Muhammad Imran Randhawa 2-34)
\nCentral Punjab 300-3 against Northern at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
\nCENTRAL PUNJAB 300-3 in 86 overs (Azhar Ali 130 not out, Tayyab Tahir 82 not out; Nauman Ali 2-93).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KARACHI Pakistan Test batter Azhar Ali struck another century as Central Punjab piled up 300 for the loss of three wickets against Northern on the first day of the fourth round of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy at Faisalabad\u2019s Iqbal Stadium on Saturday. Azhar was batting on 130 with Tayyab Tahir on 82 at the other end […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289786,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-289772","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n