Daily Times

KARACHI: Lahore Qalandars secured a dominating win over Karachi Kings, thanks to a fantabulous century by Fakhar Zaman in their Pakistan Super League VII at National Stadium here on Sunday night. The left-hander’s 106 off 60, which was embellished with 12 fours and four sixes, helped Lahore chase down 171 in 19.4 overs, with Mohammad Hafeez and Samit Patel playing small cameos to lead them to the victory, and bag two points.

Earlier, Karachi Kings scored 170 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs after good batting from Sharjeel Khan and Babar Azam. The Kings were sailing smoothly till the 10th over, but then Qalandars’ skipper Shaheen Afridi brought in experienced all-rounder 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 Qalandars pacer Haris Rauf had an impressive outing with the bowl, as he returned three for 33 – accounting for Lewis Gregory, Sahibzada Farhan and Imad Wasim at death, denying the opposition the opportunity to finish on a high. Hafeez, Rashid, Zaman, and Shaheen picked up a scalp each.

Brief scores: Karachi Kings 170-7, 20 overs (Sharjeel Khan 60, Babar Azam 41, Joe Clarke 24 not out; Haris Rauf 3-33) VS Lahore Qalandars 174-4, 19.2 overs (Fakhar Zaman 106, Samit Patel 26 not out, Mohammad Hafeez 24; Umaid Asif 2-30)