ISLAMABAD: The Muzaffarabad Tigers on Saturday made it to the final of the Kashmir Premier League 2021 with a 7-run win over Rawalakot Hawks in the first of two tournament qualifiers. Though the Rawalakot Hawks lost, their journey “isn’t over yet”, the KPL said, in reference to the fact that the Hawks still rule the points table. An exciting contest between the two sides saw the Tigers score 164 against the Hawks, after the Hawks won the toss and elected to bowl first. In the first innings, The Tigers’ Anwar Ali proved instrumental, with a knock of 57 off 34 deliveries. Inzamam-ul-Haq was the second best performing batsman, with 30 runs off 33 balls. From the Hawks’ side, Imran Randhawa and Danish Aziz took two wickets apiece, while Shahid Afridi, Asif Afridi and Waqas Masood took one each. The other wicket – that of Mohammad Hafeez – was a run out by Kashif Ali.
In the second innings, the Hawks’ Hussain Talat put up a valiant effort, scoring 52 off 35 balls, while Danish Aziz scored 37 off 22, but the side fell short seven runs nonetheless. The Tigers’ Sohail Tanveer put a dent in the Hawks’ batting line up, claiming four scalps, while conceding 29 runs. Usama Mir, Mohammad Hafeez and Arshad Iqbal took the remaining three wickets, to end the match with the side at 157 all out at 19.4 overs. The KPL final will be played at 7pm on August 17, as per a revised schedule. The KPL schedule was revised as the Pakistan vs West Indies Test match timings clashed with the league’s match timings. The Rawalakot Hawks are leading the points table with 7 points.