PACC won the toss and elected to field first on a green track at Mission Road today. Sai Wan’s young openers displayed great maturity early on, with Aarez Dar standing firm at one end while Qasim Iqbal also looked promising. Sai Wan lost only two wickets in the first hour of play, reaching a score of 26. Ehsan Khan then joined Aarez at the crease, and they built a solid partnership to bring the score to 51. Aarez Dar was eventually caught at slip off Yasim Murtaza’s bowling, having scored 25 runs off 73 balls.

The score quickly became 53/5 in 27.3 overs as Haider Ali and Ehsan Khan both departed. Tanveer Ahmed and Moner Dar managed to take the score to 75 before both were dismissed, leaving Sai Wan at a precarious 75/7. However, a crucial partnership between Rumesh Rupasinghe and Sheryar Khan brought the score to 151. Sheryar played an aggressive innings, scoring 51 off 49 balls with 5 boundaries and 2 sixes, while Rumesh contributed a steady 34 runs. Sai Wan was eventually all out for 162 in 50.5 overs.

Tanwir Afzal was the standout bowler for PACC, claiming 6 wickets for 53 runs in his marathon spell of 22 overs. Yasim Murtaza took 2-55, and Ghazanfar Muhammad chipped in with 1-14.

In reply, PACC lost Hafeez Khan early, but Zeeshan Ali looked in good touch, hitting a couple of early boundaries. However, tight bowling from Sheryar Khan and Tanveer Ahmed created opportunities. Sheryar removed Haseeb Muhammad in the 11th over, leaving PACC at 35/2. Tanveer then dismissed Zeeshan Ali, who edged one to keeper Rumesh, making it 37/3. Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, with Tariq Nawaz (11), Yasim (9), Ehsan Nawaz (17), Tanwir (19), and Nasrullah (12) unable to withstand the quality bowling of Tanveer and Sheryar. The last two wickets were taken by Moner Ahmed, as Sai Wan secured a first innings lead of 54 runs.

Tanveer Ahmed (4-40) and Sheryar Khan (3-28) were the pick of the bowlers for Sai Wan, with Moner Ahmed providing the finishing touch. At the close of play, the match remains finely poised. Although Sai Wan holds a 54-run lead, the outcome will depend on how their batters perform tomorrow. An exciting finish to the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy 2024 is anticipated.