Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and Ghani Glass bagged wins in the President’s Trophy Grade-I 2025-26 opening round across three venues in Karachi on Tuesday.
In the Pakistan Television (PTV) and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fixture, the latter were left staring down a defeat as stumps were drawn with the defending champions requiring another two scalps to win, while the runners-up of the previous edition needed another 92 runs at the State Bank Stadium.
Ather Mehmood bowled SNGPL to an innings and 151-run victory over Sahir Associates at the NBP Sports Complex as he returned figures of five for 66.
Resuming their second innings from 68-3 following-on, Sahir Associates were bundled out for 288 in 82.2 overs despite Mohammad Basit’s 107 off 195 balls, comprising 14 fours.
Basit combined with Mohammad Faiq (54) to put on a 114-run stand off 212 balls to keep the SNGPL bowlers toiling before pacer Mohammad Salman struck to remove the latter, giving his team a much-needed breakthrough in the 49th over.
Skipper Asim Ali Nasir (71) then continued the rearguard effort with Basit as the duo stitched an 87-run stand, taking the team to 255-4, when the collapse set in. Sahir Associates lost six wickets for 33 runs from the 75th to 83rd over.
WAPDA chased down the 163-run target against the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) to register a six-wicket triumph at the National Bank Stadium, Karachi. Bismillah Khan top-scored for WAPDA with 46 off 84 balls, hitting three fours, while Sharoon Siraj scored 33 off 46 balls, striking five fours.
Ghani Glass handed Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) a seven-wicket defeat as they chased the 78-run target in 24.1 overs. Earlier, OGDCL slipped from their overnight score of 75-2 to 127 all out, losing eight wickets for 52 runs.
Pacer Afaq Afridi ran riot with the ball for Ghani Glass as he registered his fifth first-class five-wicket haul, bagging five for 30 off 13 overs. He was backed up by fellow pacers Mir Hamza and Ubaid Shah, who accounted for three and two wickets, respectively.
At the State Bank Stadium in Karachi, SBP were reeling at 148-8 at stumps in pursuit of a 240-run target with Rameez Aziz unbeaten on 31 off 35 balls. Mohammad Hurraira was run out after scoring a fine 76 off 80 balls, hitting 12 fours and two sixes, as his dismissal also broke open the SBP batting line-up.
Earlier, PTV resumed their second innings from an overnight score of 191-5 and were dismissed for 293 with Mohammad Suleman scoring his fifth first-class century, also sharing a vital 93-run stand with Arafat Minhas (81).
SBP’s Mohammad Abbas picked up three wickets, while Qasim Akram, Niaz Khan and Kashif Ali dismissed two batters each.
Sajid Khan shines as SNGPL enforce follow-on against Sahir Associates
