MOHSIN ALI
DUBAI
Boom Boom Afridi was the stand-out performer, as magnificent Karachi Kings taught Lahore Qalandars a cricketing lesson in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) match played here at Dubai International Stadium late Monday night.
Karachi Kings skipper Imad Wasim won the toss and opted to bat first. They got off to a decent start, but as witnessed in the past, after starting well, Karachi had batting collapse, as they lost 3 wickets at 36, first Denly, then Babar Azam and after him, Khurram Manzoor. But it was veteran Ravi Bopara, who not only held the innings together, but also batted with lot of responsibility. The wickets were falling on other end as none of Karachi batsman was ready to show some maturity and were just simply gifting their wickets.
As soon as Boom Boom came to crease after the fall of skipper Imad Wasim, the crowd was at its feet and the entire stadium erupted with huge joy and started chanting Boom Boom. Afridi hit a massive six on the very first delivery which made the passionate crowd more excited, but on the very next ball, Afridi, while trying to pull a Sohail Khan bouncer, gave a simple catch to Shaheen Shah.
Karachi was in complete tatters, as they had scored only 100 runs in 15.5 overs, with only Bopara staying at the crease and scoring some lusty blows. He along with tail-ender Irfan Junior posted 59 runs in the last 25 deliveries. He also completed his half century on the last ball with a out of park six to ensure Karachi post a decent total of 159-7. Besides Bopara’s 50, which included 2 fours and as many sixes, Ingram and Denly also contributed 28 runs each. Sunil Narine, Yasir Shah and Sohail Khan bagged two wickets each conceding 16, 25 and 45 runs respectively.
Lahore Qalandars made 3 changes to the side, which played the last match. Gulriz Sadaf, Raza Hassan and Delporte made room for Ramdin, Sohail Khan and Agha Salman, but changes didn’t make any difference. Qalandars’ run-chase got off to the worst possible start as Sunil Narine was once again sent to open the innings, but he failed to impress and was out caught behind on the very first delivery of Usman Khan Shinwari.
After that, Qalandars were simply running away with the match, as skipper McCullum and Fakhar Zaman were hitting almost every delivery in or outside the boundary. Imad was running out of options, but as soon as Afridi was introduced, Qalandars’ downfall started, as he removed Fakhar when Bopara took his sensational diving catch. It was 70-2 when McCullum put the final nail in Qalandars’ coffin, as he tried to play a cross shot off the bowling of Imad, and the umpire without a second’s hesitation signaled the end of the road for McCullum, who took review, but curtains had fallen. It was the turning point of the match, as Qalandars were eyeing their first win in the event, but irresponsible batting by batsmen left them in tatters.
The catch of the tournament was captured by Denly, who was literally flying in the air to hold off one of the most memorable catches. Ramdin was in shock and couldn’t believe his eyes. The wickets continued to fall as hapless Qalandars owner Rana Fawad was completely shell-shocked. Only a few minutes earlier, he was smiling, but a rash stroke from McCullum completely turned around the gamem as Qalandars were bowled out for 132 to in 18.3 overs. Besides McCullum’s 44, Fakhar contributed 19. Player of the match Boom Boom Afridi clinched 3-19 while Usman Shinwari bagged 3-5, and Mills took 2-33, but he proved to be very expensive and above all wayward.
It was quite great night for the PSL, as crowd thronged the stadium in huge numbers. It was only one match scheduled for Monday and the spectators finally arrived huge in numbers. Afridi is well-known crowd-puller while Kings were also enjoying tremendous success and fan-following, as a lot of Karachiites reside in this part of the world.
Scoreboard
Khurram Manzoor c Akmal b Narine 8
J Denly c Narine b Yasir Shah 28
Babar Azam lbw b Mustafizur R 0
C Ingram c Umar Akmal b Yasir 28
R Bopara not out 50
M Rizwan c McCullum b Narine 1
Imad Wasim c & b Sohail Khan 15
Afridi c Sohail b Sohail Khan 6
M Irfan not out 16
EXTRAS: (lb 2, w 5) 7
TOTAL: (7 wckts, 20 overs) 159
FOW: 1-36, 2-36, 3-36, 4-86, 5-90, 6-110, 7-117.
BOWLING: Sohail Khan 4-0-45-2, Shaheen Shah Afridi 3-0-39-0, Yasir Shah 4-0-25-2, Mustafizur Rahman 4-1-22-1, SP Narine 4-0-18-2, Agha Salman 1-0-8-0.
Lahore qalandars
B McCullum lbw b Imad Wasim 44
S Narine c M Rizwan b Usman Khan 0
Fakhar Zaman c Bopara b Afridi 19
Umar Akmal st M Rizwan b Afridi 6
D Ramdin c Denly b M Irfan 11
Sohail Akhtar c Denly b Afridi 9
Agha Salman c Mills b Usman Khan 15
Sohail Khan not out 9
Yasir Shah b Mills 6
Shaheen Afridi c & b Usman Khan 1
Mustafizur Rahman c & b Mills 0
EXTRAS: (lb 4, nb 5, w 3) 12
TOTAL: (all out; 18.3 overs) 132
FOW: 1-1, 2-70, 3-72, 4-81, 5-91, 6-114, 7-117, 8-124, 9-126, 10-132.
BOWLING: Usman Khan 4-0-26-3, TS Mills 3.3-0-33-2, Imad Wasim 4-0-25-1, M Irfan(4) 2-0-17-1, Shahid Afridi 4-0-19-3, CA Ingram 1-0-8-0.
TOSS: Karachi Kings
UMPIRES: Ranmore Martinesz, Tim Robinson
TV UMPIRES: Shozab Raza
RESERVE UMPIRE: Khalid Mahmood
MATCH REFEREE: Roshan Mahanama
