KARACHI: In the most anticipated HBL Pakistan Super league fixture here at the National Bank Stadium on Tuesday, Lahore Qalandars were as clinical as Karachi Kings were underwhelming.

Playing as the away team in front of a sparse Karachi crowd, Qalandars shone with the bat and then caused destruction with the ball — thanks to Kings’ all-or-nothing approach — to take the match comfortably by 65 runs.

It was a match where the seasoned campaigners showed up for the Qalandars. After Fakhar Zaman’s second consecutive half-century of the season helped Lahore post 201-6, skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi hunted down three victims.

But as impactful were Daryl Mitchell and Rishad Hossain, the New Zealander scoring a fifty and the Bangladesh spinner continuing his form to bag three as well.

Mitchell and Fakhar got together after Lahore had struggled to 44-2 in the powerplay – losing Mohammad Naeem and Abdullah Shafique to a brilliant first spell by pacer Hasan Ali – and ended up putting up 125 off just 70 balls for the third wicket.

While Fakhar — who received the player-of-the-match award — smacked the Karachi bowlers for 76 off 47 (six fours and five sixes), Mitchell bludgeoned 75 off 41 with the help of nine fours and two sixes.

Mitchell started off when he cut pacer Fawad Ali gloriously before scooping a bouncer with authority off the emerging pacer in the ninth over.

Fakhar then dispatched with disdain Khushdil Shah’s spin for sixes over long-off, midwicket and long-on to reach his second consecutive half-century and lift Qalandars to 90-2 at halfway stage.

Mitchell punished a wayward Abbas Afridi with four boundaries in the next over, which included a cracking shot over the infield and a classy cover drive, making Qalandars’ early hiccups a distant memory as their run-rate rose to nearly 10 per over.

The partnership, which had now started to trouble Karachi seriously, could have been broken if Khushdil held on to a difficult skier off Fakhar’s bat right on the edge of deep-midwicket boundary, but the valiant effort by the all-rounder went in vain and the ball went for six.

To pile on Karachi’s misery, the next over saw an overthrow go for four more before Mitchell, who completed his half-century as well, launched Abbas for a 98-metre hit over cow corner as Qalandars put 150 on the board by the 15th.

It took Hasan’s return in the next over for Fakhar to finally falter, as the Pakistan veteran holed the pacer put to Adam Milne at long-on.

Hasan (4-28) then got the better of a dangerous looking Sam Billings (19 off 10, two fours and a six) as the Englishman failed to clear Irfan Khan at deep midwicket to mark the end of the 18th over.

Mitchell, who looked on from the other end, tried to restore Qalandars’ momentum by walloping Abbas over long-on for a six and a four, only to edge a slower one to short thirdman.

Sikandar Raza squeezed Milne for two boundaries in the last over to take Qalandars past 200.

Karachi’s response started with them losing their top-order dangermen early.

Carrying on the confidence from the batting show, Shaheen ran in with purpose and drew his Karachi counterpart David Warner way away from the off-stump to find the left-hander’s edge before cramping James Vince’s for space and dislodging the Englishman’s stumps.

And after a fighting response of sorts by Tim Seifert and Shan Masood had taken Karachi to 38-2, the former played a reverse sweep into the hands of Daryl Mitchell off Asif Afridi.

Shan followed suit, gloving Rishad’s leg-spin to Sam Billings behind the wickets before Irfan Khan skied the Bangladesh leg-spinner to be caught at long-on by Mitchell.

Off-spinner Raza then floated in a quicker one to find Arafat Minhas’ edge for the left-hander to be caught behind.

Rishad (3-26) got his third in the form of Abbas, who sliced the spinner to Zaman Khan at backward point.

A few lusty blows by the incoming Hasan saw him score 27 off 25, but he was cleaned up by fast-bowling counterpart Shaheen (3-36) for the left-armer’s third wicket.

Khushdil, who scored a match-winning half-century in Karachi’s last match, controlled some damage with his 27-ball 39 with the aid of four fours and two sixes but had his stumps castled by pacer Haris Rauf before Raza clean bowled Milne to wrap up the proceedings.

SCOREBOARD

LAHORE QALANDARS:

Fakhar Zaman c Milne b Hasan 76

Mohammad Naeem c Abbas b Hasan 7

Abdullah Shafique c Arafat b Hasan 6

Daryl Mitchell c Hasan b Abbas 75

Sam Billings c Irfan b Hasan 19

Sikandar Raza not out 10

Rishad Hossain run out 2

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-2, W-3) 6

TOTAL (for six wickets, 20 overs) 201

DID NOT BAT: Shaheen Shah Afridi, Asif Afridi, Zaman Khan, Haris Rauf

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-12 (Naeem), 2-25 (Abdullah), 3-150 (Fakhar), 4-178 (Billings), 5-188 (Mitchell), 6-201 (Rishad)

BOWLING: Milne 4-0-31-0, Hasan 4-0-28-4 (1w), Abbas 4-0-47-1, Fawad 3-0-30-0 (1w), Khushdil 3-0-36-0 (1w), Arafat 2-0-26-0

KARACHI KINGS:

David Warner c Billings b Shaheen 0

Tim Seifert c Mitchell b Asif 18

James Vince b Shaheen 0

Shan Masood c Billings b Rishad 18

Irfan Khan c Mitchell b Rishad 6

Khushdil Shah b Haris 39

Arafat Minhas c Billings b Sikandar 0

Abbas Afridi c Zaman b Rishad 1

Hasan Ali b Shaheen 27

Adam Milne b Sikandar 16

Fawad Ali not out 2

EXTRAS (LB-3, NB-1, W-5) 9

TOTAL (all out, 19.1 overs) 136

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-0 (Warner), 2-0 (Vince), 3-39 (Seifert), 4-45 (Shan), 5-46 (Irfan), 6-47 (Arafat), 7-50 (Abbas), 8-98 (Hasan), 9-134 (Khushdil)

BOWLING: Shaheen 4-0-34-3 (2w), Zaman 3-0-16-0, Asif 2-0-21-1 (1nb), Haris 4-0-23-1, Rishad 4-0-26-3, Sikandar 2.1-0-13-2 (1w)

RESULT: Lahore Qalandars won by 65 runs.

PLAYER-OF-THE-MATCH: Fakhar Zaman

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2025