Shouldered by Rashid Khan's excellent cameo of 27 runs from 15 balls alongside senior statesman Mohammad Hafeez's composed innings, Lahore Qalandars went past Peshawar Zalmi in a jittery game to open their account in the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League.
Coming to bat after the fall of two quick wickets in a single Saqib Mahmood over, Khan, 22, didn’t waste too many deliveries to get going as he and Hafeez hit the opposition skipper Wahab Riaz for 14 runs in an over, at a time when the Qalandars required 22 to win from 18 balls.
Before Wahab’s over, young quick Imran Khan too had conceded nine runs from his six balls to bring the required run rate down which had risen up after Saqib Mahmood's brilliant 16th over in which he removed Samit Patel and David Wiese with a breathtaking display of reverse swing.
He gave away just a solitary single, pushing the required run rate to almost eight runs per over. The Lahore side then needed 31 from 24 deliveries.
Earlier in the day, Qalandar’s skipper Sohail Akhtar won the toss and decided to bowl first. His decision was validated by Shaheen Afridi who removed Imam-Ul-Haq on the very first delivery of the match. It became difficult for Zalmi to recover from that attack as wickets fell at a regular interval. It was only after two overseas, Ravi Bopara and Sherafen Rutherford added 64 runs in 56 balls that Zalmi looked like getting to a competitive total.
But soon Rutherford got out too and Bopara followed him after completing his 43 ball 50. Both were removed by Shaheen who took three wickets in the game and gave away just 14 runs in his four overs. He was adjudged Man of the Match for this brilliance performance of his. It was then that Amad Butt’s unbeaten effort of 23 runs from 11 balls helped his team get up to 140.
Coming to chase 140, which was a tricky total for that wicket, especially with the strong bowling lineup of the Zalmi. Qalandars' start wasn’t ideal either. Afghan spinner Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman removed skipper Akhtar at a team score of 29. That started a phenomenon where wickets kept on falling as soon as it seemed like that Zalmi were out of the game. At 109-6 at the end of 16 overs, Qalandars were struggling to get past the target until Rashid Khan started to showcase the brilliance of his death overs hitting ably supported by Professor Hafeez.
With this win at the National Stadium in Karachi, the Qalandars have now set their eyes firmly on their elusive title hunt, making a strong statement for other teams to beware.