Match 2, Karachi, February 21, 2021, 02:30 PM
Peshawar Zalmi
140/6(20.0ov)
Lahore Qalandars
143/6(18.3ov)
Lahore Qalandars beat Peshawar Zalmi by 4 wickets
Best Batsmen
R
B
4S
6S
SR
Best Bowler
O
R
W
Econ
Man of the Match
Shaheen Afridi
Commentry
Right! That's all from the first game of Super Sunday. The action will continue as Islamabad United take on Multan Sultans in match number 3 of the tournament. The action will begin soon. The game starts at 1900 local (1400 GMT). Switch tabs and enjoy the action. Goodbye from here.
Sohail Akhtar, the winning skipper of Lahore Qalandars, says that they were confident from the start. Says that the first game of the tournament is always important. Feels they have a good bowling unit. Mentions they have a good bench strength as well.
Shaheen Afridi is named Player of the Match. He says that he enjoyed the win. Tells that he was getting help from the new ball and he managed to use it well. Adds that he enjoys bowling across the three formats and if a bowler is able to enjoy the game, the performances keep coming.
Wahab Riaz, Peshawar Zalmi skipper, starts by saying that he felt that they were 20-30 runs short. Feels that they started well with the ball and adds it was the wicket that had something for the pacers. Reckons their batters needed to take their time in the middle. Says it was a good fight from them.
Rashid Khan is down for an interview. He starts by saying that he is happy with his performance. Tells that finishing the game with the bat is always a good feeling. Mentions that the winning stroke was a mini-helicopter shot. Says that it was important to bowl right line and length as the ball wasn't spinning. Ends by saying that he is enjoying his first time in the tournament.
Earlier in the game, Qalandars won the toss and opted to field. Afridi struck in his first over. Mirza struck twice to peg the opposition further. Bopara and Rutherford then put on a good partnership. Rutherford fell but Bopara continued and got to a 50. He failed to give the final impetus to the team but Amad Butt did with his 11-ball 23 to help the side reach 140. It was Afridi who was the pick of the bowlers for the Qalandars as he ended up with a 3-fer. Salman Mirza got two as well. And eventually, the score they stopped the opposition to was chased down easily in the end.
The Zalmi bowlers needed wickets at regular intervals in their defense of this small total. That never happened as all the opposition batters managed to get starts. Butt's twin strike in the 15th over gave them a glimmer of hope but Rashid's cameo meant that all their chances were over.
Chasing the score, the Qalandars started decently with Akhtar and Fakhar adding 29 for the first wicket. Both fell but other batters chipped in nicely. Salman and Dunk too played a nice, little hand. Dunk looked good for his 14-ball 22 but was removed by Riaz. However, in the end, Rashid and Hafeez combined to take the team over the line with more than an over left.
Fantastic cameo from Rashid and a fine hand from Hafeez means the Qalandars have started their campaign with a bang. It looked like they might struggle when they lost two in the 16th over but Hafeez kept his cool throughout and Rashid played his role to finish things off nicely.
In over# 1
6
4
0
Amad Butt 32/1(2.3)
18.3
6
SIX! What a blow from Rashid to finish things off. A length ball from Amad, it is wide outside off. Rashid gets down, winds up and hammers the ball over cow corner for a biggie. Lahore Qalandars win by 4 wickets.
18.2
4
FOUR! Nails the stroke this time! Fuller ball around off, Rashid slams it over mid off and finds the fence. Qalandars just a hit away.
18.1
.
Full toss wide outside off, Rashid reaches out and mistimes the stroke towards the cover region. Would've been wide had he left it alone.
Bowling change! Amad Butt to bowl the penultimate over of the game.
In over# 1
1
0
4
2
1
1
5nb
Wahab Riaz 30/2(4)
17.6
1
Misfield and a single! Short and wide outside off, Rashid looks to punch but it goes off the cue end. The fielder at covers fumbles and gives away a single. 14 off the over. Just 8 needed in 12 balls now.
17.5
.
Bangs this one short and it is on middle. Rashid sits under it.
17.4
4
FOUR! Nicely done! Good length and just outside off, Rashid waits for the ball and then guides it nicely through short third man for a boundary.
17.3
2
Full and around off, pushed through the covers for two.
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