KARACHI: Shaheen Shah Afridi and Rashid Khan showed exception skills as Lahore Qalandars defeated Peshawar Zalmi by four wickets in the second match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 at National Stadium.
Shaheen picked three wickets for just 14 runs to restrict Zalmi on 140-6 while the Afghan cricket Rashid, currently the no.1 bowler in T20Is performed with both the bat and ball.
Zalmi were made to bat first and lost Imam ul-Haq on the first ball of the match off an away swing by Shaheen caught back by the wicketkeeper. Zalmi was unable to gain momentum as they managed to score 36 and lost three wickets.
Veteran Shoaib Malik scored 26 but was dismissed by David Wiese in the ninth over. Ravi Bopara and Sherfane Rutherford provided a much-needed partnership and added 64 for the fifth wicket until Shaheen dismissed Rutherford. He scored 26 runs including two sixes in his 27-ball inning.
Bopara registered his 36th fifty in T20 cricket scoring 44-ball 50 including by six fours. All-rounder Amad Butt provided a late blitz of 11-ball 23 not out leading Zalmi to 140/6 in 20 overs.
Besides Shaheen’s three wickets, debutant Daniyal Mirza picked 2-35 while Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan bowled a spell of 0-14 without conceding any boundary.
Lahore Qalandars clinch away their opening game, but it was the stylish SIX in the end by @rashidkhan_19 that is still on our mind! #MatchDikhao l #HBLPSL6 I #LQvPZ pic.twitter.com/2k0xEjJ5NU
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 21, 2021
Qalandars started the chase positively with Fakhar Zaman and captain Sohail Akhtar until Mujeeb-ur-Rehman dismissed Akhtar (14) on the second ball of the fifth over.
Zalmi’s skipper Wahab Riaz removed Fakhar (15) as Malik claimed a spectacular catch going backward while fielding at short-leg. Agha Salman (21) was the third man to dismiss as Amad Butt. Mohammad Hafeez and Ben oth added 36 for fourth wicket to provide stability to the team.
Qalandars lost three wickets in quick succession, two off Saqib Mehmood’s last over of the spell where he dismissed Samit Patel and Wiese in consecutive balls.
Hafeez received support from Rashid who smashed 15-ball 27 to take Qalandars home in 18.3 overs. He remained unbeaten at 33 off 26 balls. Shaheen was awarded player of the match
