GUYANA: Luke Wells’ all-round exploits led Lahore Qalandars to a four-run victory over Hampshire Hawks in the fourth match of the inaugural edition of the Global Super League (GSL) here at Providence Stadium on Saturday.
Opting for the former, the Qalandars amassed 135/5 in their allotted 20 overs, courtesy of cameos from Wells and Muhammad Akhlaq.
The two-time PSL champions made a shaky start to their innings as they lost two wickets – Mirza Baig (two) and Asif Afridi (one) – inside four overs with just six runs on the board.
After the initial hiccup, Adam Rossington joined hands with Mohammad Faizan (19) and formed a 31-run partnership off 28 balls before Benny Howell cleaned up the first in the seventh over.
Rossington scored 30 off 29 deliveries with the help of four fours and a six.
Right-handed batsman Tom Abell played a cautious knock of 21 runs before returning to the dugout in the first delivery of the 17th with the score reading 91/5.
Wells and Akhlaq then forced Qalandars’ comeback with sublime batting in the remaining overs, adding 44 crucial runs to the total.
Wells top-scored for the Qalandars with an unbeaten 35 off 24 deliveries while Akhlaq hit 12 off 23 balls.
Liam Dawson led the Hawks’ bowling attack with two wickets, while Danny Briggs, Sonny Baker and Benny Howell contributed one wicket each.
In response, the Hawks could rack up 131/8 despite a fierce knock from opener Tom Perst.
Perst top-scored for the Hawks with 22-ball 30s, but support was lacking at the other end.
Later, James Fuller (26*) brought the Hawks within touching distance when he hit two sixes in the final over against Qalandars captain Carlos Brathwaite.
The equation came down to five runs required in the last delivery with batsman Fuller on strike. The right-handed slugger, however, only managed a single run this time as the Hawks succumbed to a grueling four-run defeat.
On the bowling front, Tabraiz Shamsi took three wickets for Qalandars, while captain Brathwaite, Wells and Asif took a scalp each.
The four-race victory took Lahore Qalandars to fourth place in the GSL 2024 standings with two points from two matches, while Hampshire Hawks remained third.
