Lahore, March 09, 2020: A whirlwind unbeaten innings of 99 runs laced with 12 sixes and two fours by wicket-keeper batsman Ben Dunk powered Lahore Qalandars to victory against Karachi Kings in the HBL PSL V match at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing a huge target of 188, Ben Dunk (99 not out) and Sohail Akhter (68 not out) produced an impressive partnership of 140 runs off 65 balls to overhaul the target on the first ball of the 20th over.
So overwhelming was the impact of Dunk’s innings, who was deservedly declared man of the match, that it eclipsed other two big innings by Sohail Akher (68 off 46) for Lahore Qalandars and Alex Hales (80 off 48) for Karachi Kings.
Lahore Qalandars captain Sohail Akhter led from the front as he opened the innings in a crucial match against arch rivals Karachi Kings and played an unbeaten innings of 68 runs off 46 balls. Fakhar Zaman who has failed to hit form so far in the fifth edition of the HBL PSL was once again clueless against wizardry of Pakistan ace fast bowler Mohamamd Amir and wasclean bowled in the very first over of the Qalandars chase.
The dictum ‘catches win matches’ proved true yet again and Karachi Kings were themselves to blame after they gave Ben Dunk a life on his individual score of 11 in the twelfth over when Muhammad Rizwan could not hold onto a difficult chance on the deep mid-wicket boundary. He was again dropped when Imad Wasim missed a caught and bold chance in the 16th over but by then Dunk had put Qalandars quite ahead of the Kings.
Mohammad Amir was the most economical bowler barring the fourth in which Dunk hit him a boundary and a six over long leg and he returned with figures of 33-1 in four overs. Dunk was harsh on Imad Wasim who conceded 40 runs in 3.5 overs.
He hit the Karachi Kings captain for 23 runs with three sixes and a boundary in the 16th over of the match. No other bowler could restrain ruthless Dunk while Umer Khan got the other wicket of Mohammad Hafeez who scored a cautious 16 runs off 24 balls. Usually economical Chris Jordan conceded 37 runs and remained wicketless.
Karachi Kings, perhaps, missed a trick when they never bowled Iftikhar Ahmed against left-hander Ben Dunk who took a liking against the left arm slow orthodox bowling of Imad Wasim and Umer Khan.
Unlike the batting strip which provided great assistance to the spinners in the match between Lahore Qalandars and Quetta Gladiators the other day, the pitch today was a batting strip which produced 377 runs for 7 wickets in 39.1 overs.
Earlier, Alex Hales played a commanding innings of 80 runs off 48 balls laced with six fours and five sixes and led Karachi Kings to a commanding total of 187 for 5 in 20 overs.
Chadwick Walton played a breezy innings of 45 off 20 balls while Babar Azam scored 39 runs of 29 balls.
The Qalandars might have rued giving a life to Alex Hales in the fourth over when he was dropped by Salman Irshad off the bowling of Samit Patel at short third man. Alex Hales targeted Usman Shinwari and hit him all over the park. Usman Shinwari gave away 44 runs in his three overs.
Sharjeel Khan 5 (8) was run out early in the innings while Cameron Delport scored 15 runs off 13 balls and became second victim of the debutant Maaz Khan
The debutant Maaz Khan made the best of the opportunity and got rid of classy Babar Azam and Alex Hales in his four over spell off 31 runs. Babar Azam took the debutant leg-spinner to task in his first over of the PSL V and hit four boundaries as Maaz Khan conceded 17 runs.
Lahore Qalandars won the toss for the second time in two days and elected to field first and the decision of the skipper Sohail Akhter paid dividends as the Qalandars chased the total easily.
Lahore Qalandars made two changes in the side which won against Quetta Gladiators with fast bowler Usman Shinwari and leggie Maaz Khan replacing Dilber Hussain and Farzan Raja. Karachi Kings made one change in the side which had played against Multan Sultans at the Gaddafi stadium on March 6 and brought in Cameron Delport to replace Mitchell McClenaghan..
The match between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings attracted so far the best crowd of the HBL PSLV at the Gaddafi stadium Lahore.
By virtue of their third win in the HBL PSL V 2020, Lahore Qalandars have not only lifted their spirits but they have also risen from bottom of the points table to 5th position with six points. Quetta Gladiator have moved to the bottom due to an inferior run rate although they also have 6 points from eight matches.
There will no match at the Gaddafi stadium on March 9 (Monday) while Lahore Qalandars will face Peshawar Zalmi at the same venue of March 10 (Tuesday) after a day’s rest.
