LAHORE -UNS: Defending champions Lahore Qalandars secured a commanding 69-run victory over Hyderabad Kingsmen in the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) opener, powered by Fakhar Zaman’s fluent fifty and a disciplined bowling performance at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday.
Set to chase a daunting 200-run target in their maiden PSL appearance, the Kingsmen’s batting unit faltered and could accumulate 130 before getting bowled out in 20 overs.
Captain Marnus Labuschagne remained the top-scorer for the Kingsmen with a cautious 26 off 22 deliveries, followed by No.9 batter Riley Meredith, who made an unbeaten 19 off 25 deliveries.
Besides them, opener Saim Ayub (17), experienced all-rounder Hammad Azam, and tailender Mohammad Ali, 10 each, were the only other batters to amass double figures.
For the Qalandars, Haris Rauf, Sikandar Raza and Ubaid Shah bagged two wickets each, while Mustafizur Rahman and captain Shaheen Shah Afridi chipped in with one scalp apiece.
Zaman was declared Player of the Match.
