Daily Times

Chris Lynn played a scintillating and undefeated knock of 113 as Lahore Qalandars outplayed Multan Sultans by nine wickets to storm into semifinals of the HBL Pakistan Super League5 at Gaddafi Stadium here on Sunday. This is the first time Lahore have reached the knockout stage of the PSL. In the all previous editions, they always finished as the last team on the points table. Lahore were off to a shaky start again early in the tournament this season after losing their first three matches but a stunning resurgence propelled in their fourth match by the ferocious hitting of Ben Dunk dug them out of the cellar. Chasing a formidable target of 187, Lahore raced home for the loss of opener Fakhar Zaman’s wicket, who made 57 off 37 balls including seven fours and two sixes. Fakhar was stumped off Usman Qadir, playing his maiden PSL match, on the last ball of the ninth over. 29-year-old Lynn’s career-best 113 not out was his second century in T20 cricket in which he smashed 12 fours and eight sixes. Over the course of his 55-ball knock, Lynn crafted a blazing 100-run opening partnership with Fakhar, which set the tone for Lahore to overcome the target with seven balls to spare.

Later Lynn paired with skipper Sohail Akhtar (19 not out) for an unbeaten 91-run stand in which the Lahore captain mostly took the backseat to watch Lynn put the Multan bowlers to the sword. Lahore’s openers made the most of the Powerplay overs, smoking 12 fours and a six to bring up 72 runs in 36 balls. Lynn bagged the award for player of the match for his brilliant innings. “It’s great to get triple figures. I love playing in the day, but it was important to get to the semi-finals after five years of trying. It was difficult (playing in an empty stadium) but you have to create your own energy when fielding. We got some momentum with the bat, and just kept it going,” said Lynn at the post-match presentation ceremony. “Obviously, I love opening. Some days it comes off, other days it doesn’t. I have played quite a bit in the subcontinent. Quite a bit in the IPL, but first time in Pakistan. My team-mates are awesome. They have given me a lot of support, and getting some wins under the belt is good,” he added.

Earlier, Lahore won the toss and opted to field first. Moeen Ali (01) and Zeeshan Ashraf (02) poorly opened the innings for Multan. Ali was sent back to the pavilion in the very first over off Shaheen Shah Afridi’s yorker when he tried to play the ball towards the mid-wicket but missed and was bowled out. Ashraf lost his wicket in the next over when he was caught out by Sohail on Mohammad Hafeez’s ball. The pace of the game remained slow for the next few overs as Multan reeled from the loss of wickets so early in the game until Ravi Bopara (33) and Shan Masood’s (42) partnership (72-run) helped bring some stability.

After departure of the duo, Khushdil Shah came in and hammered 70 not out, which he scored at a strike rate of 241. The left-handed batsman clubbed five fours and six sixes in his innings. The 25-year-old showcased his batting prowess in the death overs as he clobbered Haris Rauf for two and three maximums in the 17th and 20th overs respectively and dispatched Dilbar Hussain for three fours and a six in the 18th over as Multan piled up 77 runs in the last five overs. Lahore’s Shaheen and David Wiese dismissed two batsmen each, while Hafeez picked up one wicket. Despite the defeat, Multan finished the group-stage at the top of the points table with 14 points from six wins. They have already qualified for the semifinals. Multan will play Peshawar Zalmi in the first semifinal while Lahore will meet Karachi Kings in the second semifinal on Tuesday (tomorrow).