RAWALPINDI: Khushdil Shah backed up his quickfire half-century with two wickets and led the Lions to a comfortable 35-run victory over the Dolphins in the eighth match of the Champions T20 Cup here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
Placed first, the Lions posted a massive total of 194/5 in the allotted 20 overs, thanks to half-centuries from captain Imam-ul-Haq, Hasan Nawaz and Khushdil.
Imam and Hasan laid solid foundations for a massive total with a spirited 100-run partnership, which culminated in the latter’s dismissal in the 12th over.
Hasan scored 50 off 34 balls, with four fours and three sixes.
His dismissal sparked a collapse as the Lions lost three more wickets in quick succession, including batsman Imam, and consequently fell to 152/4 in 17 overs.
Imam remained the Lions’ top scorer with a 48-ball 65 with the help of seven fours and a six.
After the hiccup, Khushdil launched a counter-attack with belligerent batting and hit two fours and six sixes on his way to an unbeaten 57 off just 22 deliveries.
He shared a one-sided partnership of 42 runs for the fifth wicket with Aamer Yamin, who took four for six.
For the Dolphins, Salman Irshad took three wickets while Sameen Gul took two.
Chasing a daunting target of 195 runs, the Dolphins’ batting unit reached 159 in the final despite opening batsman Sahibzada Farhan’s half-century.
The Dolphins started the chase well, with Farhan and Mirza Tahir Baig registering a 57-run opening partnership, which ended in the final delivery of the batting powerplay with the latter’s dismissal after scoring 29 off 16.
The Dolphins then lost another wicket in the next over when wicketkeeper batsman Muhammad Akhlaq fell for a three-ball duck.
After the consecutive dismissals, experienced batsman Umar Amin joined hands with opener Farhan and formed a 51-run partnership for the third wicket.
The duo brought the Dolphins back into the hunt but the duo’s dismissal in successive overs halted their progress.
Farhan remained the Dolphins’ top scorer with 42-ball 54, while Amin made 25 off 19.
His consecutive dismissals sparked a match-defining collapse that saw the Dolphins lose their remaining six wickets for just 48 runs.
Musa Khan was the Lions’ standout bowler with 4/23 from his four overs, followed by Khushdil Shah and Shahid Aziz with two wickets each. Mohammad Awais Anwar and Sharoon Siraj, on the other hand, contributed one wicket each.
For his overall brilliance, Khushdil was named the best player of the match.
