Usman, Abdullah give Karachi Blues strong start against Sialkot in QEAT final

LAHORE: Abdullah Fazal and Usman Khan scored anchoring half-centuries to lead Karachi Blues into a dominant position on the opening day of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QEAT) 2025-25 final against Sialkot here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Monday.

Put into bat first, the nine-time champions made a solid start to their innings, with their in-form opener Saad Baig and his partner Abdullah putting together 80 runs for the first wicket.

The opening stand was eventually broken in the 20th over when Hasan Ali trapped Saad for lbw. The wicketkeeper batter made 39 off 59 deliveries with the help of eight fours.

His dismissal sparked a brief collapse, during which Karachi Blues lost three more wickets as Shan Masood (13), Haroon Arshad (15) and captain Saud Shakeel (zero) fell after making modest contributions, bringing the total down to 125/4 in 35 overs.

Following the flurry of wickets, Usman joined Abdullah in the middle, and the duo batted sensibly to launch a decent recovery, adding 98 runs for the fifth wicket until the opening batter eventually fell victim to Sialkot captain Usama Mir.

Abdullah remained the top-scorer for Karachi Blues, making 88 off 149 deliveries, laced with 10 fours and a six.

Usman, on the other hand, was then involved in a brief 44-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Rameez Aziz, who Hasan dismissed in the dying minutes of the opening day after scoring 22 off 38 deliveries.

The middle-order batter, accompanied by Kashif Bhatti, then batted cautiously at the backend of the first day, putting together an unbeaten 18-run partnership for the seventh wicket to make sure Karachi Blues did not sustain further damage to their batting expedition.

At the stumps on day one, Usman was unbeaten on 80 off 107 deliveries, having smashed 10 fours and a six, while Kashif had made 11 not out.

The duo will resume Karachi Blues' first innings on the second day as they look to pile up a massive total on the board in the summit clash.

For Sialkot, pacers Mohammad Hasnain and Hasan picked up two wickets each, while Mohammad Ali and skipper Usama chipped in with one apiece.