Daily Times

Lahore Qalandars took the wind out of Quetta Gladiators sails when they cruised to an eight-wicket win over skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and his charges in their HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 fixture at Gaddafi Stadium here on Saturday evening. Lahore, who were chasing an easy target of 99 runs set by Quetta, raced home for the loss of two wickets with 49 balls remaining. Fakhar Zaman was bowled out by Mohammad Nawaz in the third over while skipper Sohail Akhtar was stumped by his Quetta counterpart Sarfaraz off Nawaz in the fifth over. Mohammad Hafeez remained the top scorer for Lahore with his 32-ball 39 while Ben Dunk contributed 30 runs off 21 balls. Lahore’s innings got impetus in the second over when Fakhar smashed Mohammad Hasnain for three fours and a six.

Earlier, Lahore’s Samit Patel recorded his best bowling figures in T20 cricket to help his side to bowl out Quetta for just 98 runs. The left-arm orthodox returned four for five in four overs, which also included a maiden. Patel’s all four wickets came inside the Powerplay as Quetta were reeling at 21-6 by the end of the sixth over. Patel made short work of Jason Roy, Azam Khan and Ben Cutting all in the sixth over. Quetta lost nine wickets for the meager score in 20 overs. Their main contributor was Sohail Khan who made 35-ball 32. He hit two sixes and two fours and crafted a 34-run partnership with Zahid Mehmood, who made run-a-ball 19. For his match-winning effort, Patel was named man of the match. On Super Sunday, the much-anticipated contest of the season – Lahore vs Karachi Kings – will be held at Gaddafi Stadium at 7:00pm. Earlier in the afternoon (2:00pm), Islamabad United will host Multan Sultans at the Pindi Cricket Ground.

Today’s matches:
1: Islamabad United vs Multan Sultans at Pindi Cricket Ground, 2:00pm (PST)
2: Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings at Gaddafi Stadium, 7:00pm (PST).