Hanif Mohammad Trophy: Imam-ul-Haq hits unbeaten ton on domestic return

Staff Report
KARACHI: Pakistan Test opener Imam-ul-Haq made a ground-breaking return to the domestic circuit as he smashed an unbeaten century for Multan during the second day of their second-round Hanif Mohammad Trophy match against Dera Murad Jamali here at the National Bank Stadium on Friday.
The left-handed batter, who last played a Test for Pakistan in December 2023, represented Yorkshire in England’s recently concluded One-Day Cup and finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 688 runs in eight innings at an astounding average of 98.28 with the help of four centuries and three fifties.
Imam termed his One-Day Cup stint for Yorkshire a ‘wonderful season’ and shared that he will now turn his focus towards domestic cricket in Pakistan. “Grateful for a wonderful season with Yorkshire. We fell short in the semi-final, but proud of the way we played throughout,” Imam wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“Thank you to all my fans for the constant love and support. Back home now for the domestic.” Consequently, the top-order batter joined Multan’s squad for the Hanif Mohammad Trophy ahead of the ongoing round and led them to 330/1 at the stumps on day two, in response to Dera Murad Jamali’s 361 all out.
Imam remained unbeaten with 176 off just 182 deliveries, studded with 20 fours and two sixes. He was involved in a 190-run opening partnership with fellow opener Zain Abbas, who scored 81, before putting together an unbeaten 140-run stand for the second with Imran Rafiq, who made 70 not out from 75 balls.
For Dera Murad Jamali, only skipper Fahad Hussain could pick up a wicket on the second day. Earlier in the day, Dera Murad Jamali resumed their first innings from 272/4 but could add 89 more to their total for the loss of the remaining six wickets and were thus bowled out for 361 in 111.1 overs.
Opening batter Nasir Khan remained the top scorer for Dera Murad Jamali with 148 off 283 deliveries, laced with 11 fours and four sixes. He was supported by fellow top-order Majid Ali and Aqib Junaid, who made 55 and 45, respectively. Arafat Minhas was the standout bowler for Multan, taking four wickets for just 46 runs in his 20 overs, followed by Hasan Hafeez and Tahir Hussain with two each, while Faisal Akram and Mohammad Ismail made one scalp apiece.