Kamran Akmal props up Central Punjab

Central Punjab vs Sindh

Half centuries from Kamran Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad helped Central Punjab recover from a precarious situation on the opening day of their Quaid-e-Azam encounter encounter against Sindh in Faisalabad. Sindh, who elected to bowl without contesting the toss, validated their decision by making best use of the new ball to reduce Central Punjab to 38/3. Tabish Khan was the wrecker-in-chief, claiming the wickets of Salman Butt and Azhar Ali while Mir Hamza accounted for Umar Akmal.

It was then that Usman Salahuddin joined forces with Ahmed Shehzad. The former was the anchor in the 86-run recovery stand. Shehzad scored eight boundaries in his 134-ball knock off 60. He eventually edged behind a Mir Hamza delivery to give Sarfaraz Ahmed a third catch of the day. Hamza also contributed by playing a central role in Salahuddin's run-out.

At 165/5 and with their position still iffy, Kamran took charge with a thrilling counter-attack. He put on 66 runs with Zafar Gohar with the latter adding just 12 runs in the association. Kamran's knock of 90 was studded with 13 fours and 2 sixes and came at a strike-rate of 91. Unfortunately, the keeper-bat fell LBW to Kashif Bhatti missing out on a deserved century. Central Punjab though had been steered to a position of relative safety at 263/7.

Brief scores: Central Punjab 263/7 (Kamran Akmal 90, Ahmed Shehzad 60; Mir Hamza 2-46, Tabish Khan 2-61) v Sindh

Balochistan v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Imran Butt and Imran Farhat composed undefeated centuries to propel Balochistan to a position of strength on Day 1 of their Quaid-e-Azam game versus Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Quetta. Balochistan were 341 for 3 at close of play.

After Khyber Pakhtunkhwa opted to bowl, Balochistan lost Azeem Ghumman (8) early on in the innings. However, Butt joined forces with Awais Zia to stitch a useful stand of 85. Later on, Farhat and Butt strung together a massive partnership to put the visitors in control of the proceedings. Farhat, the 37-year-old, completed his 36th first-class century, with Butt compiling his seventh first-class ton. For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Usman Shinwari and Imran Khan Sr. took one wicket each.

Brief scores:Balochistan341/3 (Imran Butt 135*, Imran Farhat 114*, Awais Zia 69) v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Northern vs Southern Punjab

A maiden unbeaten double century by opener Zeeshan Malik and an unbeaten 150 from Umar Amin on the opening day gave Northern a strong start to their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy round five fixture against Southern Punjab in Sialkot.

The second-wicket partnership - unbroken at 343 at stumps - dominated the proceedings on the day after Northern opted to bat. The pair joined hands at 41/1 when Haider Ali departed for 23, and the opposition had to go through the rest of the day wicketless while Northern finished with an imposing 384 for 1. Zeeshan raised his century off 134 balls, hitting 13 boundaries and as many as four sixes en route the three-figure score. Umar completed his century in the final session of the play off 162 balls and with the help of 15 boundary hits.

Zeeshan converted his maiden first-class century into a double century moments before the close of play as the duo thoroughly dominated the Southern bowlers. Umar was unbeaten on 153, while Rahat Ali took the only wicket to fall.

Brief scores: Northern384/1 (Zeeshan Malik 204*, Umar Amin 153*; Rahat Ali 1-69) v Southern Punjab.