RAWALPINDI: Mohammad Ali’s four-wicket haul, followed Mohammad Haris’s quickfire half-century, steered Stallions to a resounding six-wicket victory over Panthers in the 11th match of the Champions T20 Cup here at the Rawalpindi Stadium on Sunday.
Put into bat first, Panthers registered a commendable total of 168/7 in their allotted 20 overs, courtesy of in-form Haider Ali’s half-century.
The Shadab Khan-led side, however, had a contrasting start to their innings as their hard-hitting opener Sharjeel Khan (four) walked back in the second over with just 12 runs on the board.
Following the early hiccup, Haider joined hands with wicketkeeper batter Umar Siddiq to anchor the innings.
The pair batted cautiously to add 61 runs for the second wicket until the opening batter was cleaned up by Ali in the 11th over. He scored 29 off 30 deliveries with the help of three boundaries.
The right-arm pacer struck again on the next delivery, dismissing Panthers’ skipper Shadab Khan for a golden duck.
Haider then put together an important 63-run partnership for the fourth-wicket before both perished in an eventful 18th over.
Haider remained the top-scorer for the Panthers with a 49-ball 73, studded with 10 boundaries including five sixes, while Mubasir made 30 off 19.
Mohammad Ali was the standout bowler for the Stallions, picking up four wickets for 28 runs in his four overs, while Mohammad Amir Khan bagged two wickets.
Set to chase 169, Stallions knocked the winning runs on the fourth delivery of the final over to seal their fourth victory in the ongoing tournament.
Leading the way was their skipper Mohammad Haris, who struck a blistering half-century and top-scored with a 35-ball 61.
Haris was also involved in match-defining third-wicket partnership with Hussain Talat, who made significant contribution with his 25-ball 32.
After the two batters perished in the span of just one over, veteran Shoaib Malik (21*) and Mohammad Mohsin (15*) batted sensibly at the backend and led their side over the line with an unbeaten 34-run partnership.
