RAWALPINDI – Player of the match Umar Siddiq smashed an unbeaten 78 and Amad Butt grabbed three wickets as Lake City Panthers routed Engro Dolphins by eight wickets to open their account in the Bahria Town Champions T20 Cup in Rawalpindi on Sunday.
Siddiq’s aggressive 53-ball knock was spiced with four towering sixes and eight boundaries. He gave Panthers a rollicking start with 33 coming in the first three overs and by the tenth over they had reached 86 for the loss of Sharjeel Khan 14.
Siddiq and stand-in skipper Haider Ali, deputising for unfit Shadab Khan, added a rapid 101 for the second wicket to bring their team within 23 runs of victory. Mubasir Khan, who scored 16 not out, hit the winning six as the 161-run target was achieved in 16 overs. Haider’s 28-ball 46 contained five boundaries and two sixes.
Dolphins’ total of 160-8 showed most of the batters got starts but did not make it big, with promising youngster Mohammad Huraira the highest scorer with a 32-ball 37 that contained four boundaries and a six.
Mohammad Suleman struck two sixes and a boundary in his 27-ball 34 while Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (27, 16b, 3x4s, 1×6) and Shayan Sheikh (20, 12b, 4x4s) chipped in with useful contributions as 55 runs came in the last five overs. For the Panthers, all-rounder Amad Butt was the pick of the bowlers with 3-19 while Mohammad Ibtisam finished with 2-30.
