Daily Times

Dazzling Ben Dunk played a scintillating and undefeated knock of 99 as Lahore Qalandars overwhelmed Karachi Kings by eight wickets in their HBL Pakistan Super League5 (PSL) match at Gaddafi Stadium here on Sunday evening. Chasing a formidable victory target of 188, Dunk, who seemed to be a man possessed, hammered four boundaries and 12 sixes in his 40-ball innings as Lahore conveniently chased the target for the loss of just two wickets with five balls to spare. The winners got off to a poor start and lost opener Fakhar Zaman in the first over on a delivery by Mohammad Amir. Sohail Akhtar, who remained not out with 68 off 46 balls, was another star of the match as he first built a 48-run partnership with Mohammad Hafeez (16). After Hafeez walked off in the ninth over, caught by Cameron Delport off Umer Khan’s delivery, Akhtar built a 140-run stand with Dunk. Dunk, who came out to bat with the scorecard reading 50 for two, turned the match on its head with his immaculate power-hitting. He was named man of the match for his extraordinary knock.

After losing their first three matches of the PSL, Lahore now have become the hottest team in the tournament winning three of four propelled by the thunderous bat of Dunk. The outcome has given both sides a decent chance to qualify for the top four. Karachi are placed at the fourth spot with seven points while Lahore are in fifth place with six points.

Earlier, Alex Hales and Chadwick Walton played fine knocks of 80 off 48 balls and 45 off 20 balls respectively as Karachi made 188 for the loss of five wickets after Lahore won the toss and elected to field first. The high-octane first innings saw Hales and Walton hitting five sixes each. Prior to the partnership between the two, Karachi experienced a steady fall of wickets. Sharjeel Khan was the first man dismissed, run out by wicketkeeper David Wiese off Shaheen Afridi’s ball at 2.4 overs. The second to go was Babar Azam (38 off 29), caught at extra cover by Sohail Akhtar off Maaz Khan’s delivery. The wicket marked Maaz’s first of the tournament. The youngster struck again when he bowled and caught Delport, who went after scoring 15 off 13 balls. Delport’s replacement, Iftikhar Ahmed, was the next to go. He was run out off Fakhar Zaman’s delivery. The fifth wicket taken was that of Walton’s who put up an impressive stand before he was taken out by Salman Arshad’s delivery.