Abdul Razzaq blasted 14 off 3 balls
Abdul Razzaq blasted 14 off 3 balls to guide Lahore Lions to an incredible five-wicket victory over Sialkot Stallions in the last league match of Faysal Bank T20 Cup at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore on Friday.
Lions had needed 13 off the final over, bowled by seamer Naved-ul-Hasan to overhaul the 161-run target. Umar Akmal and Kamran Akmal could manage to score just two off first two deliveries before former departed.
Razzaq plundered eight off two deliveries before smashing a monster six off no-ball to take his side beyond target with a ball to spare.
Sialkot Stallions’ second loss in the tournament means Multan Tigers have qualified for the semi-finals. Both side finished with 8 points but Tigers were ahead due to better run-rate.
Unconquered Lahore Lions finished as table toppers with 12 points. They will face take on Bahawalpur Stags in the 1st semi-final at at the same venue on Saturday. Tigers will come head-to-head against Faisalabad Wolves later tomorrow.
Though Razzaq emerged hero with late blows, but the foundations of Lions victory were actually laid by Ahmed Shehzad (59 off 50) and skipper Mohammad Hafeez (50), who shared 78 runs for the second wicket after opener Nasir Jamshed (24 off 14) fell in the third over.
Shehzad and Hafeez initially took time to settle down, but after gaining the momentum they hit some sparkling shots all over the park.
Hafeez brought up his half-century off 38 balls with the help of five boundaries and two sixes, but failed to prolong his knock and perished to left-arm spinner Nayyer Abbas in the 14th over.
Dauntless Shehzad, continuing to accelerate flow of runs on scoreboard single-handedly, drove up Lions to 147-3 in 18.2 overs before Abass removed him and Mohammad Yousaf (8) in two balls to spice up the contest.
Earlier, riding on Haris Sohail’s 63 off 41 balls after being put to bat, Lions managed a challenging total of 160-5.
Skipper Shoaib Malik and opener Imran Nazir contributed 24 and 22 runs respectively.
