By Khalid H Khan
Nadeem Iqbal gets a hat trick
KARACHI, Nov 17: A new chapter was added to Pakistan's cricket history on Tuesday here at the UBL Sports Complex when National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) were bowled out for the lowest ever total in first-class matches in the country.
NBP were shot out for a pitiable 20 by Pakistan Customs before lunch on an astonishing opening day of the four-day Patron's Trophy Grade-I National Cricket Championship match with pace bowler Nadeem Iqbal poised for a unique double hat trick.
By close of play, an aggressive 130 by opener Ameeruddin had put Pakistan Customs in an unassailable position. Customs reached 245 for three in 276 minutes of batting to lead by 225 runs on the first innings.
NBP's score of 20 - the 38th instance of a team being bowled out for 20 or less in first-class cricket - eclipses the previous lowest total in Pakistan when Dera Ismail Khan made 27 in their second innings at Lahore in 1964-65 after making 32 in the first innings of a match when Railways amassed 910 for six wickets declared and eventually went on to win by a world record margin of an innings and 851 runs.
In fact, the smallest total in first-class history was achieved on two occasions. Oxford University scored 12 against MCC and Ground at Oxford in 1877 with one man absent while Northamptonshire made a similar score against Gloucestershire at Gloucester in 1907.
On a pitch which had a lot of moisture, Nadeem and fellow pace bowler Azhar Shafiq played havoc with the ball to rout the NBP team in 93 minutes after Pakistan Customs skipper Rana Qayyumul Hasan had opted to field first.
Nadeem ripped through the heart of the NBP batting with the remarkable career best analysis of six for nine in 9.3 overs during which he also collected a hat trick in his fourth over with the third, fourth and fifth deliveries.
With further two wickets off consecutive balls to terminate the NBP's innings, Nadeem will complete a double hat trick in the match if manages to take another wicket with the first ball of the NBP's second innings.
Wicket-keeper Wasim Yousufi was simply magnificent as he claimed six catches to take tally of dismissals to 32 in this, his seventh, match of the 1998-99 season. He played a pivotal role in Nadeem's hat trick by holding two difficult catches to get rid of ex-Pakistan player Shahid Anwar, held one-handed way down the leg-side, and Saeed Azad, also a Pakistan discard, caught in front of the second slip.
Nadeem completed his hat trick when he had Tahir Shah held by Aamir Bashir at second slip, watched a crestfallen NBP skipper Sajid Ali from the non-striker's end.
Sajid, another former international, was sixth out after facing 28 deliveries in 47 minutes for three - a score equalled by three others in the innings - while all-rounder Zafar Iqbal batted the longest before he was ninth out after a stay of 56 minutes having faced 27 balls.
Azhar Shafiq proved an foil for Nadeem at the other end and captured four for seven in nine overs as the pair bowled unchanged throughout the dramatic collapse. Quite incredibly, a leg-bye boundary was the highest score in the innings during while four men failed out to open their accounts.
Azhar and Ameeruddin took advantage of wayward NBP bowling to put on 169 in 190 minutes for the first wicket to vindicate that the pitch had nothing to do with the downfall of the NBP's batsmen, who were undone by superlative bowling.
The pair remained unseparated at lunch with nine runs on the board and extended that score 111 by the tea interval.
The 19-year-old left-hander Azhar sent another reminder to the national selectors of his all-round capabilities by stroking 66 off 119 balls with six boundaries and a six.
Ameeruddin, the dusky right-hander, was lucky to survive a chance very early in the innings. But he batted in his usual cavalier style to bring up his first hundred of the season and literally threw away his wicket for a 185-ball 130, which included 22 fours. Ameeruddin batted for 245 minutes.