The third day of the opening round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2025-26 saw fiery spells from Lahore Whites’ Naseem Shah and Multan’s Aamir Yamin, while Bahawalpur’s Mohammad Ammar impressed with a well-crafted century as action unfolded across five venues in four cities on Wednesday.
At the Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi, Islamabad – resuming from their overnight score of 91 for one – were bowled out for 256 in 76.4 overs, courtesy of a devastating spell from Naseem Shah. The right-arm quick tore through the lower order, returning figures of 5 for 34 to claim his fifth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, while Ubaid Shah complemented him with 2 for 56.
For Islamabad, opener Shamyl Hussain continued his fine form, top-scoring with a patient 86 off 152 balls, striking 14 fours. His effort provided stability amid regular breakthroughs. Lower-order resistance came from Musa Khan (35 off 58 balls), Haris Rauf (34 off 56 balls) and Jawad Ali (27 off 70 balls), who added valuable runs after Islamabad had slipped to 128 for six.
In reply, Lahore Whites made a solid start, reaching 152 for three in 33 overs at stumps, trailing by 104 runs. Hussain Talat (32 not out off 61 balls, 2x4s, 2x6s) and Salman Ali Agha (28 not out off 31 balls, 3x4s) steadied the innings with an unbroken 47-run partnership after Tayyab Tahir had provided early momentum with a brisk 43 off 51 deliveries, featuring six boundaries.
With both Naseem’s incisive bowling and Lahore’s strong top-order response, the contest at Rawalpindi is finely balanced heading into the fourth and final day.
Scores in brief
Karachi Blues v Faisalabad at Marghzar Cricket Ground, Islamabad
Faisalabad trail by 279 runs with six wickets remaining in first innings
Karachi Blues 477 all out, 115.3 overs (Danish Aziz 155, Haroon Arshad 101, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori 83, Saim Ayub 63, Omair Bin Yousuf 24, Mir Hamza 21; Faham-ul-Haq 3-59, Ahmed Safi Abdullah 3-102, Shehzad Gul 2-89)
Faisalabad 198-4, 52 overs (Muhammad Irfan Khan 78 not out, Hasan Raza 73 not out, Muhammad Awais Zafar 20; Mushtaq Ahmed 3-52)
Abbottabad v Bahawalpur at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Abbottabad
Abbottabad trail by 376 runs with 10 wickets remaining in first innings
Bahawalpur 399 all out, 95.3 overs (Mohammad Ammar 105, Muhammad Imran 66, Saifullah Bangash 48, Saad Khan 43, Mohammad Azab 38 not out, Mohammad Alamgir 32; Israr Hussain 3-78, Shahnawaz Dahani 3-86, Mohammad Adil 3-89)
Abbottabad 23-0, 7 overs (Yasir Khan 17 not out)
FATA v Multan at Diamond Cricket Ground, Islamabad
Multan trail by 185 runs with seven wickets remaining in the first innings
FATA 273 overs, 92.4 overs (Mohammad Sarwar Afridi 80, Haseebullah 63, Mohammad Wasim Khan 53, Mohammad Farooq 25; Aamer Yamin 5-48, Mohammad Ismail 2-92)
Multan 88-3, 31 overs (Zain Abbas 47; Shahid Aziz 2-24)
Lahore Whites v Islamabad at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
Lahore Whites trail by 104 runs with seven wickets remaining in first innings
Islamabad 256 all out, 76.4 overs (Shamyl Hussain 86, Musa Khan 35, Haris Rauf 34, Jawad Ali 27; Naseem Shah 5-34, Ubaid Shah 2-56)
Lahore Whites 152-3, 33 overs (Tayyab Tahir 43, Hussain Talat 32 not out, Salman Ali Agha 28 not out; Haris Rauf 1-21)
Peshawar v Sialkot at Imran Khan Stadium, Peshawar
Peshawar 154-4, 49 overs (Waqar Ahmed 67, Israrullah 32, Mohammad Rizwan 21 not out; Amad Butt 2-25)
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