ABBOTTABAD: Maaz Sadaqat and Zubair Khan scored anchoring half-centuries and guided Peshawar to a formidable first innings total on the opening day of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QEAT) against Lahore Whites here at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium on Monday.
Put into bat first, Peshawar amassed 293/7 in 72 overs before poor light forced an early closure of the opening day.
Peshawar made a shaky start to the innings as they lost Waqar Ahmed (nine) early on with just 20 runs on the board.
After the initial hiccup, Maaz put together a crucial 50-run partnership with Sajjad Ibrahim, who scored a cautious 15.
Peshawar then lost three more wickets in quick succession, including batsman Maaz, and consequently fell to 173/5.
Maaz Sadaqat remained Peshawar’s top scorer with a brisk 97-ball 95, studded with 16 fours and a six.
After the fall, number seven batsman Zubair partnered with wicketkeeper batsman Mohammad Haris for an important 97-run partnership for the sixth wicket.
The pair, however, fell in quick succession, resulting in Peshawar falling to 284/7.
Zubair hit 11 boundaries on his way to an 84-ball 71, while Haris made 45 off 68 deliveries, hitting four boundaries in the process.
Skipper Sajid Khan and Niaz Khan, unbeaten on 11 and two respectively, batted sensibly to see out the remaining overs and will now resume Peshawar’s first innings of 293/7 on day two.
For Lahore, Ahmed Bashir and Naseem Shah bagged two wickets each, while Ubaid Shah, Mohammad Salman and Saad Nasim shared three between them.
For the unversed, it is a must-win match for Sajid-led Peshawar as they lost the first game of the triangular stage against Sialkot by a huge margin.
