da casino： Karachi, Nov 10: Sheikhupura made a mockery of Karachi Whites skipperAsif Mujtaba’s decision to field first by closing the opening day ofthe Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Grade-I Cricket Championship clash atthe UBL Sports Complex in a healthy
11-Nov-2000Karachi, Nov 10: Sheikhupura made a mockery of Karachi Whites skipperAsif Mujtaba’s decision to field first by closing the opening day ofthe Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Grade-I Cricket Championship clash atthe UBL Sports Complex in a healthy position here on Friday.The visitors reached 250 for four in their first innings, building onan excellent opening partnership of 142 between Majid Majeed anddebutant Tahir Usman.On a pitch which nothing but a featherbed for the batsmen, Mujtaba’sdecision is mystifying especially in the sense that the home team hasplumbed for three frontline spinners and a solitary pace bowler.Athar Laeeq, the former Pakistan pacer, will take sometime to get intothe groove after coming off a long lay-off. He was awfully rusty inhis bowling stride.As it transpired, the Sheikhupura’s openers gratefully accepted theunexpected opportunity to score freely. The first wicket did not falluntil the final ball of the extended session of 180 minutes when Majidperished to off-spinner Tahir Khan for a well-compiled 88 off 163deliveries with 10 fours.Part-time leg-spin of Hasan Raza got rid of left-handed Mohammad Javedafter the lunch-cum-prayers break before Zulfiqar Haider made hispresent felt.The 25-year-old bearded leg-spinner, filling in for Danish Kaneria,earlier made an inauspicious entry into first-class cricket by beingcarted for boundaries off his opening two balls. His bowling action isquite remarkable because it has a mixture of both Shane Warne andStuart MacGill – the Australian Test champions.Zulfiqar, who had his fair share of long hops, was fortunate to claimstwo wickets in his final spell of 9.5 overs because both Usman Akram(bowled behind his legs off an attempted sweep) and Waqar Ahmed Khan(losing his wicket while trying a cut in the day’s final over).Adnan Malik, the slow left-armer, was perhaps, the pick of the bowlersand was desperately unlucky to end the day wicketless. Tahir wassteady and bowled the most overs.Tahir Usman, the right-hander, was a model of concentration as hebatted patiently for his unbeaten 83 off 308 balls. His 330-minutestay at the crease was laced with five boundaries.