Lahore pull off third win, down Karachi

KARACHI: Shaheen Afridi (3-27) bowled exceptionally well while Fakhar Zaman (83) and Ben Dunk (57*) hit solid fifties as Lahore Qalandars pulled off their third win from four meetings when they overwhelmed Karachi Kings by six wickets in another tense clash of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 here at the National Stadium on Sunday. Chasing 187, Lahore needed 30 from the last two overs. David Wiese (31*) hit Mohammad Amir for two fours and a six and Dunk also struck a four in that over which fetched 20 runs. In the last over from Daniel Christian, Lahore required 10 runs. The South African all-rounder David Wiese hit the Australian medium pacer Christian for two successive sixes to bring in a sensational win with four balls to spare after losing four wickets.

Wiese hit three sixes and three fours in his explosive nine-ball 31 not out.

After losing three early wickets, Fakhar and Dunk did a remarkable job by sharing 119 in 78 balls for the fourth wicket stand to keep Lahore in the hunt.

Christian eventually broke the key stand when he removed Fakhar, held at deep long off by Babar Azam. Fakhar, who brought in his fifty off 36 balls, smashed four sixes and eight fours in his 54-ball excellent knock.

Dunk, who completed his fifty off 39 balls, struck two sixes and five fours in his unbeaten 43-ball feat.

Earlier, Lahore had a pathetic start when they lost skipper Sohail Akhtar (0) and Joe Denly (0) in the first over from Mohammad Amir. Sohail got run out while off his next ball Amir clean bowled English batsman Joe Denly to reduce Lahore to 0-2.

Left-arm pacer Waqas Maqsood then got the vital wicket of in-form Mohammad Hafeez, held by Babar at point, to break Lahore’s back.

Hafeez struck one six and one four in his nine-ball 15.

After being invited to bat first, Sharjeel Khan (64) and Mohammad Nabi (57) hit excellent fifties to shepherd Karachi Kings to 186-9.

At one stage, Kings were reeling at 37-3. However, Sharjeel and Nabi batted fluently, managing some superb shots to boost the total.

It was in the 12th over when David Wiese broke the vital stand when he got rid of Sharjeel, held in the deep by Samit Patel to bring some relief in Lahore’s camp.

Sharjeel, who brought in his fifty off 34 balls, smacked six sixes and five fours in his 39-ball excellent knock.

Sharjeel, dropped on eight by Sohail Akhtar off Shaheen, added 76 runs off 43 balls for the fourth wicket valuable stand with Nabi.

Nabi, who brought in his first fifty of this season off 30 balls, fell prey to Haris Rauf when he went for a big hit, could not time it well. It went up and Sohail Akhtar took an easy catch in the deep.

Nabi smashed three sixes and four fours in his 35-ball knock. Nabi shared a quick 45 for the fifth wicket association with Daniel Christian.

In the next over, David Wiese sent Imad Wasim (0) back off first-ball duck, before Daniel Christian got run out by Shaheen Afridi after playing a superb knock of 27 off just 14 balls. The Australian hammered five fours in his rapid knock. And Kings were 177-7 in 18 overs.

In the final over Shaheen Afridi bowled Waqas Maqsood (12) and Mohammad Amir (0) inside three deliveries to restrict Kings to 186-9.

After being invited to bat Karachi Kings had a poor start.

After producing a few splendid deliveries Shaheen provided an early breakthrough to Lahore when he bowled Babar Azam (5) with a superb delivery that nipped in and the Pakistan skipper failed to read it. Babar, dropped by Fakhar in the slip off Shaheen on three in the same over in which he fell, faced five balls.

Joe Clarke (4) then got run out before Ahmad Daniyal clean bowled South Africa’s left-hander Colin Ingram for a first-ball duck to leave Kings reeling at 37-3 in five overs.

Karachi Kings scored 53.3 in powerplay. Their fifty came in 34 balls, 100 in 63 balls and 150 in 91 balls.

It was a fine day for Shaheen Afridi (3-27). He was seen in his fine rhythm. He produced a few splendid deliveries in his first two overs. He was unlucky when Babar and Sharjeel were dropped in his first spell. Samit Patel (1-27 in 2) remained the most expensive, conceding 21 in his first over.

The win enabled Lahore to join Zalmi on points as both share six points each. However, Lahore are slightly behind the table toppers Zalmi on net run-rate.

Shaheen Afridi was declared as man of the match. Earlier, Karachi Kings made one change by bringing in Mohammad Ilyas in place of Aamer Yamin while Lahore brought in Zeeshan Ashraf in place of Salman Mirza. Ahsan Raza and Richard Illingworth supervised the match.