Flamboyant batter Fakhar Zaman played a brilliant 106-run inning of just 60 balls with the help of 12 fours and four sixes to lead Lahore Qalandars to a six-wicket victory against Karachi Kings in the sixth Pakistan Super League (PSL) match on Sunday.
The Qalandars opted to field first after winning the toss, and they performed sensationally both with the bat and ball. This was Karachi Kings’ third consecutive loss.
With this win, Qalandars have got the two points on the table having lost the last game against Multan Sultans.
They chased down the 171-run target in 19.4 overs, with Mohammad Hafeez (24) and Samit Patel (26) playing small cameos to help them win the match.
For Kings, Umaid Wasim picked two wickets, while Mohammad Nabi and Imad Wasim took one scalp each, but they weren’t to stop Zaman from playing a real match-winning knock.
Earlier, Karachi Kings had handed a 171-run target to Lahore Qalandars after good batting from Sharjeel Khan and Babar Azam.
After being invited to bat, the Kings scored 170-7 at a run rate of 8.50, but except for the opener, no other batter performed up to the mark.
The Kings were sailing smoothly till the 10th over, but then Qalandars’ skipper Shaheen Afridi brought in experienced all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez to bowl.
On his first ball, Hafeez dismissed Sharjeel Khan (60), breaking the 84-run opening stand. After the important wicket, Zaman Khan (15) sent Mohammad Nabi back to the pavilion, and in the 15th over, Rashid Khan was able to get Babar’s (41) wicket.
The Qalandars’ bowlers performed sensationally, with Haris Rauf picking up three wickets, while Hafeez, Rashid, Zaman, and Shaheen picking up a scalp each.
