KARACHI: Defending champions Lahore Qalandars registered their third win in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 on Saturday, beating Rawalpindis by 32 runs at the National Bank Stadium.
Chasing 211 runs, Rawalpindis were restricted to 178-9 in 20 overs thanks to some excellent bowling by the Kilanders.
Opener Shazaib Khan became the first batsman as he fell to skipper Shaheen Afridi in the third over and the Bindis got off to a poor start.
Afridi struck again in the same over, taking skipper Mohammad Rizwan for nine off one ball, which included two fours, as the team struggled to 17-2 in 2.3 overs.
Daryl Mitchell and Yasir Khan anchored the innings with a crucial partnership that took the score past 50 runs. The duo added 50 runs as Yasir played to his advantage, making it his fourth PSL half-century.
However, their 71-run partnership was broken when Harris dismissed Rauf Mitchell after scoring 11 runs off 15 balls, including a boundary, with Pindis at 88-3 in 9.2 overs.
Rauf struck again in the same over to dismiss Yasir after a brilliant 58 off 29 balls that included 6 fours and 3 sixes.
Sam Billings and Dion Forrester tried to rebuild the innings and took the score past 100. However, Sikandar Raza broke the deadlock by stumping Billings for 7 runs.
The Rawalpindis continued to lose wickets, Usama Mir joined the attack, Dion Forrester for 8 off 10 balls as the team were bowled out for 110-6 in 12.5 overs.
Usama struck again, dismissing Colin McConchie in three off five balls. Daniel Sams then removed Razaullah cheaply for 5 off 10 balls to add more pressure to the batting side.
Saad Masood battled hard with a spirited performance to reach his maiden PSL half-century as he crossed the 150 mark.
In the last over, Haris Rauf took his third wicket to end Saath’s innings of 54 off 26 balls with 9 fours and a six, while Asif Afridi hit a boundary off the last ball.
Haris Rauf led the bowling for Lahore with three wickets for 43 runs in his four overs. Shaheen Afridi and Usama Mir took 2 wickets each while Daniel Sams and Sikandar Raza took one wicket each.
Batting first, Lahore Qalandars finished their innings at 210-4 in 20 overs, aided by excellent performances from their opening batsmen Mohammad Farooq and Faqar Zaman.
The pair started scoring at regular intervals, with Farooq pouring in runs from the front with quick runs through the boundaries, putting the early pressure on the Bindis bowling attack as the score crossed the 50-run mark inside the powerplay.
Farooq was in fine form with the bat, while Fakhar contributed consistently from the other end, helping the youngster lift the bat to his maiden PSL half-century.
The duo troubled the opposition and showed no signs of slowing down as they racked up 100 runs, showcasing their mettle while posting a huge total to defend.
However, the 121-run partnership was broken when Mohammad Amir struck in the fifth ball of the 11th over, dismissing Farooq’s prized 63 off 41 balls, which included 5 fours and the same number of sixes.
Faqar stayed at the crease and moved the scoreboard to his side, which not only took the team’s total rise past 150, but also saw the left-handed batsman lift the bat for his 25th PSL half-century.
Abdullah Shafiq came to the crease and started to pile on the runs, sharing a 50-run partnership with Fakhar, both of whom were dominant in their batting approach.
However, Razaullah smashed a 70-run partnership, dismissing Abdullah Shafiq, who scored 26 off 18 balls, including a four and 2 sixes.
Raza then picked up Rawalpindi’s second wicket of the game when Sikandar Raza ducked the first ball to leave the team at 191-3 from 18 overs.
Qalandars lost their fourth wicket in the 19th over as Muhammad Amir bowled Faqar Zaman’s brilliant innings. He scored 84 runs off 54 balls with 11 fours and a six.
Charit Asalanga and Asif Ali came to the crease in the last over to end Callander’s innings.
Asif hit back-to-back sixes to take the team’s total past 200 and remained unbeaten on 14 off six balls, while Asalanga added a run.
In bowling, Razaullah and Mohammad Amir took two wickets each.