Afridi, Rashid one-two punch gives Qalandars victory
In Lahore Qalandars Vs Peshawar Zalmi | Match 2 | PSL 6 Lahore Qalandars beat Peshawar Zalmi 140 for 6 (Bopara 50, Butt 23*, Shaheen Afridi 3-14) by four wickets Shaheen Afridi started it, Rashid Khan did his thing in the middle with the ball, and then came back with the bat as Lahore Qalandars sealed a four-wicket win against Peshawar Zalmi that was nervy in parts but still impressive.
Afridi had started by nailing his yorkers, stirring them up for certain very much coordinated short ones, and not giving batsmen space to work with.Due to having to deal with the accurate hostility of the left-arm quick, some of them might have felt as though there was not enough room for them to breathe.
Khan, playing his most memorable Pakistan Super Association match, then jumped into the game effortlessly of the veteran that he is in T20 cricket, surrendering just 14 runs in four overs prior to featuring with the bat as well.Qalandars’ chase was shaky, but the Afridi-Khan duo had led the charge in keeping Zalmi to 140 for 6.At the point when Khan strolled in, he was confronting a full go-around ball with his group 109 for 6, requiring 32 from 26 balls.He calmly struck out 27 batters in 15 at-bats, turning a cautious chase into a canter.
With Afridi catching Imam-ul-Haq behind the first ball, Qalandars, the previous edition’s champions, got off to a great start.That set the tone for a weak powerplay that resulted in Zalmi going 36 for 3 on the powerplay in Lahore Qalandars Vs Peshawar Zalmi | Match 2 | PSL 6.
Zalmi batsmen had to deal with Khan after the powerplay, even though Afridi only had a two-over burst at the beginning of the innings.Ravi Bopara and Sherfane Rutherford’s 64-run stand for the fifth wicket was their only significant partnership, but it took 56 balls due, in part, to the flurry of early wickets.The stabilizing did provide a foundation for a late launch, but that wouldn’t be easy against Afridi at the last moment.They reached 140 with a 16-run final over, but exceptional bowling through their defense would be required to win.
They did have their moments, especially Saqib Mahmood, who was devastating in his second spell while Wahab Riaz reverse-swung out Ben Dunk. However, there were also plenty of pressure-releasing deliveries in between the brilliance.In his final over, Mahmood sent back David Wiese and Samit Patel, leaving Mohammad Hafeez, the only known Qalandars batsman, with a difficult 32 to score.
However, Zalmi’s final comeback in the match was ended an over later when Riaz started with a no-ball for height that was hit to the boundary and sprayed the ball around in a 14-run over.
Khan was the day’s star because he only gave up one run in his four overs, and even though he didn’t get a wicket, he gave up only 14 runs, which was just as good as his batting cameo.
From the first ball, Khan was bowling in sync with his rhythm.True, the Zalmi batsmen were determined to play him more cautiously because they had already lost wickets, but he still gave them nothing.Bopara was also extremely watchful, and Rutherford was frequently required to read him off the pitch.
Khan’s batting also came to the forefront, and at a time when his team needed it most, the bowling performance was outstanding.When Wahab made a length error, there was no sign of nerves when Wahab was facing Mahmood, who was reversing the ball.
Miss of the day
There wasn’t an excess of the Zalmi batsmen might have finished with two top T20 bowlers bringing their A games and surrendering 28 runs off their consolidated eight overs, so they expected to make that up with a comparative bowling show.When the bowling lost its composure, the chase was delicately poised with Khan yet to hit a boundary and the equation reading 26 off 19.
Mohammad Imran, who had a generally great introduction, bowled a half-tracker off his last ball that Hafeez dispatched for four.Then came the Riaz over, a full-toss above waist height for the first ball, followed by lengths all over the place for the rest of the over, which decisively swung the game against Zalmi.
Mention must be made that whenever Afridi came on to bowl, he was impossible to resist.He only had a two-over opening session, but during that time he went 1 for 4, with half of his runs coming from a couple of wides.
He came back to bowl the 17th and 19th overs, and he bowled out Rutherford and Bopara, two players who had been at the crease.A brutal toe-crusher that swung in viciously to Rutherford and left him overbalancing without hitting the ball was the best ball he bowled, but it didn’t even get a wicket.It went for four byes because the goalkeeper was unable to hold on either.Rutherford was obtained by Afridi on the very next ball.
Rashid Khan – Shaheen Shah Afridi – Lahore Qalandars – Peshawar Zalmi – Pakistan – Zalmi – Qalandars – PSL
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