Karachi
Lahore Qalandars defeated Peshawar Zalmi by four wickets in their first match of this year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) tournament at the National Stadium in Karachi on Sunday.
Helped by Mohammad Hafeez and Rashid Khan’s splendid knocks, Qalandars successfully chased the 141-run target set by Zalmi with nine balls to spare.
The Qalandars started off strong after Fakhar Zaman and Sohail Akhtar opened their innings, before Akhtar (14 off 14) was caught by Shoaib Malik off Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the fifth over.
Zaman followed him in the next over, getting caught superbly by Malik off Wahab Riaz after making 15 from as many balls.
Agha Salman (21 off 16) then hit three boundaries and a few singles before he was bowled out by Amad Butt.
He was replaced by Ben Dunk, who contributed 22 runs before falling victim to a Wahab Riaz yorker. As Hafeez stayed firm, the Qalandars lost both Samit Patel and David Wiese to Saqib Mehmood in two consecutive balls.
While Hafeez finished the game unbeaten at 33 off 26, it was Rashid (27 from 15) who completed the run chase for the Qalandars in style with a six on 18.3 overs.
Earlier, after being sent in to bat, Zalmi finished with a score of 140 at the loss of six wickets.
Zalmi innings
Imamul Haq and Kamran Akmal opened the innings for Zalmi. Imam was sent to the pavilion right after, getting caught out by Ben Dunk off Man of the Match Shaheen Shah Afridi’s first ball of the match.
Imam was replaced by Shoaib Malik. The Peshawar franchise lost their second wicket when Kamran tried to flick a boundary, only for it to land straight in the hands of the perfectly positioned fielder.
Haider, who replaced Kamran on the pitch, got out on his first ball as well, caught by Dunk off Salman Mirza’s ball.
Malik lost his wicket in the eighth over, caught out by Dunk. Ravi Bopara (34 off 33) and Sherfane Rutherford (24 off 21) then stabilised their side’s innings, putting runs onto the scoreboard through to the 15th over.
Their partnership ended in the 17th over, however, with Rutherford getting caught by Agha Salman off Afridi’s bowling after having contributed 26 runs from 27 balls.
Bopara persevered for another two overs before getting caught simply by Rashid Khan, again on a ball by Afridi. He remained the top scorer for Zalmi, having made 50 off 44 balls.
Amad Butt contributed a vital 23 runs from 11 balls not out in the last three overs, including a six on the innings’ last ball, to enable his side’s fighting total.
Earlier, Qalandars won the toss and elected to field first. Afghanistan spin wizard Rashid Khan made his first appearance in the PSL for the Qalandars. Dilbar Hussain was replaced by Salman Mirza due to the former’s recurring hamstring injury. Lahore Qalandars, arguably the most sought-after franchise, finally overcame the jinx last year of finishing at the bottom in each of the first four editions.—AP
