Ammar’s Ton Propels Bahawalpur to Massive Score Against Abbottabad

RAWALPINDI: Naseem Shah of Pakistan demonstrated his prowess by capturing five wickets, aiding Lahore Whites in dismissing Islamabad for a relatively low score on the third day of their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QEAT) 2025-26 match at the Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium.

Islamabad, resuming at 91/1 with Shamyl Hussain and Rizwan Ali, added just 165 runs, losing their remaining nine wickets to conclude their innings at 256 in 76.4 overs.

Shamyl led the scoring with a solid 86 from 152 balls, punctuated by 14 boundaries. Musa Khan (35) and Haris Rauf (34) also made valuable contributions.

Naseem spearheaded Lahore Whites’ bowling attack, securing five wickets while conceding only 34 runs across 16 overs. His brother, Ubaid Shah, claimed two wickets, and Aamir Jamal, Salman Ali Agha, and Mohammad Ali Jnr each took one.

In their response, Lahore Whites reached 152/3 in 33 overs, with Hussain Talat and Agha at the crease, holding scores of 32 and 28, respectively. They are set to continue their innings on the final day, trailing by 104 runs.

For Islamabad, Haris Rauf, Nasratullah, and Musa Khan each managed to secure a wicket on the third day.

At the Diamond Cricket Ground in Islamabad, Aamer Yamin of Multan devastated FATA’s batting lineup with a five-wicket haul, restricting them to 273 in 92.4 overs, despite half-centuries from Mohammad Sarwar Afridi, Haseebullah, and Mohammad Wasim Khan.

Sarwar scored a team-high 80 off 120 balls, followed by Haseebullah with 63, and Wasim with 53.

Mohammad Farooq (25) and captain Khushdil Shah (18) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures for FATA.

Yamin recorded impressive figures of 5/48 in 18.4 overs, Mohammad Ismail took 2/92, and Kashif Ali, Ali Usman, and Arafat Minhas each claimed a wicket.

Multan, in reply, were at 88/3 in 31 overs, trailing by 185 runs as the third day concluded, with Imran Rafiq and Ali Usman at the crease, holding scores of seven and one, respectively.

Zain Abbas, the skipper, was Multan’s highest scorer with 47 off 78 balls, including six boundaries.

Shahid Aziz grabbed two wickets for FATA, while Zahid Mehmood took one on the third day of the QEAT match.

At the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Mohammad Ammar’s century enabled Bahawalpur to post a significant total of 399 all out in 95.3 overs against the home team, Abbottabad.

Ammar, resuming from his overnight score of 30, achieved a rapid century, scoring 105 off 144 deliveries, featuring 12 fours and two sixes.

Muhammad Imran, batting at number eight, supported him with a crucial 66 off 59 balls, while captain Saifullah Bangash contributed a steady 48.

Israr Hussain, Mohammad Adil, and Shahnawaz Dahani each took three wickets for the home side, and Khalid Usman secured one.

Abbottabad, in response, were at 23/0 in seven overs, trailing by a significant 376 runs at the close of play. Yasir Khan and Shahzaib Khan, unbeaten with scores of 17 and four, respectively, are set to continue Abbottabad’s innings.

At the Marghzar Cricket Ground in Islamabad, Faisalabad concluded the third day at 198/4 in 52 overs, responding to Karachi Blues’ 477 all out.

Faisalabad faced a difficult start, falling to 88/4 before Hasan Raza and captain Muhammad Irfan Khan initiated a remarkable recovery.

The pair formed an unbroken 110-run partnership for the fifth wicket, with both achieving half-centuries.

Raza and Irfan, holding scores of 73 and 78, respectively, will continue Faisalabad’s innings, still trailing Karachi Blues by 279 runs.

For Karachi Blues, Mushtaq Ahmed led the bowling attack with three wickets, and Muhammad Umar took one.

Earlier, Karachi Blues resumed their first innings at 346/5 with Danish Aziz and Muhammad Ghazi Ghori.

Danish led the scoring with a remarkable 155 off 231 deliveries, including 21 fours and four sixes, while Ghori contributed 83 from 120 balls, featuring 12 boundaries.

Ahmed Safi Abdullah and Faham-ul-Haq each claimed three wickets for Faisalabad, Shehzad Gul took three, and Atiq-ur-Rehman took one.

The QEAT match between Sialkot and Peshawar at the Imran Khan Cricket Stadium was hampered by rain, with only 49 overs possible on the third day after washouts on the first two days.

Peshawar, opting to bat, were at 154/4 at the end of the day, with captain Mohammad Rizwan and Adil Amin holding scores of 21 and 13, respectively.

Peshawar had a poor start, losing openers Sahibzada Farhan (four) and Maaz Sadaqat (12) cheaply.

Israrullah and Waqar Ahmed then formed a 69-run partnership before being dismissed in quick succession.

Waqar was the highest scorer with 67 off 93 balls, and Israrullah scored 32 off 67 deliveries.

Amad Butt secured two wickets for Sialkot, and Mohammad Ali and Mehran took one each.