Lahore Lions tame Karachi Dolphins in T20 final
The run fest at the Qaddafi stadium concluded as an enthralling final of the National T20 tournament ended with the hosts taking the trophy after edging past arch rivals Karachi.
The final witnessed by a boisterous Qadaffi stadium that was full to the tee saw the hosts amass a gigantic total of 221 runs batting first, the Karachities fought valiantly before throwing in the towel in the last over of the match.
The captain of the Lions, Mohammad Yousuf, won the toss and opted to bat first on a placid batting track where a score of ten runs per over was the norm in the last few days of the tournament.
The hosts got off to a blazing start with young Pakistani international Ahmed Shehzad flaying the Karachi attack.
The other opener http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Nasir-c78728 Jamshed was lucky to survive early on in his innings as an atrocious umpiring decision prolonged his stay at the wicket. The left hander was caught by Asfar Nawaz at the midwicket region when he attempted to pull fast bowler Mohammad
Sami.
Asfar dropped the ball as he attempted to send it skywards to celebrate the dismissal, he had the ball under his control yet the third umpire ruled the batsman not out to the disgust of the Karachi players.
On the other hand Ahmed Shehzad continued to treat the bowlers with disdain smacking huge sixes off Sami, Tanvir Ahmed and left arm slow bowler http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Azam-Hussain-c46875.
He was eventually dismissed when he lofted a ball into the hands of Sami, who was positioned at long-on.
Shehzad scored 43 off 23 balls hitting three sixes in his innings. He was replaced by one of the most talented batsmen in the international circuit, Umar Akmal.
The right hander started aggressively but his innings was cut short by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 who had him stumped for 17 runs.
At this stage Abdul Razzaq joined Nasir Jamshed and signaled his intentions from the outset. The belligerent all-rounder smacked the ball all around the Qaddafi stadium to the delight of the packed stadium.
In the meanwhile, Nasir Jamshed completed his half century and his innings ended when he was run out attempting a risky second run.
Nasir had scored 68 runs off 57 balls, his innings included 3 sixes. Razzaq continued to yield his magic with the bat. With the reputation of being one of the cleanest strikers in the game the all-rounder exhibited why he was feared by every opposition.
He took full advantage of the length bowling by Mohammad Sami, who was smacked for a big six. The last over of the innings was another big one for the hosts as Razzaq hit two sixes off Tanvir Ahmed.
Razzaq finished not out on 71 off a mere 29 balls, he struck as many as 6 sixes and 4 fours.
Lions set a target of 221 runs for the Dolphins, who started their pursuit in earnest.
However, the mounting run rate was difficult to maintain with the fall of regular wickets, the body blow for the visitors was the dismissal of the inform Shahzeb http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hasan-c61990.
He was dismissed for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Aizaz-Cheema-c961 for 33 runs, his innings included 3 sixes. Skipper Shahid Afridi tried his best to take the fight to the Lions. Boom Boom Afridi played some incredible shots as he motored towards a half century.
The match was effectively over with his dismissal for 48 runs off 29 balls, he struck 5 fours and 2 sixes in his innings.
Dolphins folded for 184 runs in the last over of the innings, Wahab Riaz was the main wicket taker for Lahore Lions claiming 3 wickets in his spell.
Abdul http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sialkot-c842 Stallions, who failed to make it to the semi-finals this time around.
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