KARACHI: Skipper Amad Butt registered brilliant bowling figures of 4/51 to help Sialkot dismiss Peshawar for a modest total on the opening day of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QEAT) final here at the UBL Sports Complex on Thursday.
Put into bat first, Peshawar’s batting unit unfolded on a mere 258 runs despite Zubair Khan’s 47-run knock in the middle.
The Sajid Khan-led side got off to a shaky start to their innings as Amad and Ali Raza dismantled their top order to reduce them to 70/3.
Coming out to bat at number four, Nabi Gul offered some resistance against a ruthless Sialkot’s bowling unit with an anchoring 44-run knock until falling victim to Shoaib Akhtar Jnr in the second over after Lunch.
Middle-order batters Mehran Ibrahim and Zubair then put together a cautious 39-run partnership for the fifth wicket, which culminated when Ali cleaned up the former on 31.
Zubair then took the reins of Peshawar’s batting expedition and put together brief partnerships with Abuzar Tariq and skipper Sajid before Ali got him caught behind in the final session.
The right-handed batter remained the top-scorer for Peshawar with a gutsy 47 off 126 deliveries, including six boundaries.
Sajid and Niaz Khan then shared a 25-run partnership for the eighth wicket and added crucial runs to Peshawar’s total.
Their stand concluded with Sajid’s dismissal off Shoaib in the 76th over after scoring a brisk 23 off 26 deliveries.
Peshawar then lost another wicket in the next over as Amad bowled number 10 batter Mohammad Amir Khan for a four-ball duck.
Niaz, on the other hand, frustrated Sialkot’s bowlers with his cameo and pushed Peshawar’s total past the 250-run mark until eventually falling victim to Amad after scoring a run-a-ball 31 with the help of five fours.
Amad Butt led the bowling charge for Sialkot with four wickets, followed by Ali with three, while Shoaib bagged two. Ahsan Raza Bhatti chipped in with one scalp.
In response, Sialkot had scored eight runs without a loss in two overs when the stumps were drawn.
In-form opener Azan Awais and Mohammad Huraira, unbeaten on zero and eight respectively, will resume Sialkot’s first innings on day two of the QEAT final.