Lahore Lions skipper Mohammad Hafeez claimed four wickets for 25 runs
Mohammad Hafeez four-wicket burst helped Lahore Lions to register their second successive victory in Faysal Bank T20 Cup with a crushing 30-run win over Abbottabad Falcons at Bagh-e-Jinnah Ground, Lahore on Monday.
The skipper finished with 4-25 as Abbottabad struggled in purist of 187-run target and desponded for 156-6.
Earlier, wicketkeeper batsman Kamran Akmal blasted 59 off 33 balls to power Lions to 186-4 after they were asked to bat.
Riding on a blistering Mohammad Hafeez fifty, Lions had crushed Karachi Zebras by seven wickets in their tournament opener on Saturday.
Younis Khan top-scored for Abbottabad with 47 off 32 and Yasir Hameed slammed 45-ball 40, but the underdogs were unable to meet the sky-scraping asking rate.
Abu Dhabi-born left-arm spinner Mustafa Iqbal gave his side the first breakthrough by scalping Mir Azim, who shared a lethargic 45-run opening stand with Yasir Hameed (45 off 40) in six overs.
Hameed started rebuilding the innings in the company of Younis and steadied the innings with a 44-run second-wicket stand before being undone by Mohammad Hafeez, caught by Abdul Razzaq at deep.
Left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz uprooted the stumps of Adnan Raees for duck in the next over.
Abbottabad had not yet recovered from double-setback when Hafeez removed Sohail Akthar to leave the visitors 4-105 in 15 overs.
Younis lulled the visitors by smacking some attacking shots and plundered five boundaries and a six but Hafeez ended his resistance in the 18th over. He cloned a stamp on Lions victory by snaring Yasir Shah with the similar fashion a ball later.
Earlier, openers Nasir Jamshed (39 off 35) and Ahmed Shehzad (28 off 26) delivered Lahore a strong 51-run stand.
The dismissal of Shehzad, who cracked five fours in his 25-ball knock, brought up Kamran, combined with Jamshed for a whirlwind 62-run second-wicket stand to ensure a competitive total for Lions.
The pair eventually separated with the dismissal of Jamshed, whose 39-ball knock was laced with six boundaries.
Studded with nine fours and a six, Kamran’s magnificent vigil ended in 17th over. His brother Umar followed him into the pavilion in penultimate over after clobbering 22 off 13 balls.
