FAISALABAD: Ahmed Daniyal backed his gutsy half-century with three wickets and powered Lions to a narrow 12-run victory over Stallions in the Champions One-Day Cup Eliminator here at Iqbal Stadium on Wednesday.
Set to chase 264, the Stallions batting unit unfolded on 251 on the third delivery of the final over.
The Stallions got off to a decent start to the run chase as openers Maaz Sadaqat and Yasir Khan provided a solid 68-run partnership.
But both openers Sadaqat and Yasir alongside Adil Amin perished in quick succession, resulting in Stallions slipping to 68/3.
After the top-order collapse, Tayyab Tahir and Hussain Talat forged an anchoring partnership for the fourth wicket.
The duo added an important 53 runs before both fell in successive overs to leave Stallions reeling at 139/5 in 30.3 overs.
Stallions’ captain Mohammad Haris then took the reigns of the pursuit and put on crucial partnerships with Mohammad Mohsin and Jahandad Khan before falling victim to Ahmed Daniyal in the 46th over.
Haris smashed three boundaries on his way to a 42-ball 30.
The Stallions slipped further to 246/9 in 48.5 but Jahandad had kept them in the hunt with a gutsy knock, which however, had an agonizing end as he was run out as a result of a mixup.
Ahmed Daniyal and Khushdil Shah bagged three wickets each for the Lions while Sirajuddin, Faisal Akram and Sharoon Siraj shared three wickets between them.
Opting to bat first, Lions managed to accumulate 263/9 in the allotted 50 overs, mainly due to a defiant 81-run partnership between Aamer Yamin and Daniyal.
The Lions got off to a dismal start to their innings as Ubaid Shah ran through their top order, claiming key wickets of Kamran Ghulam (4), Omair Bin Yousuf (4) and stand-in captain Imam-ul-Haq (23) inside the batting powerplay.
The Lions were in tatters at 43/3 in the 10th over.
Following the slump, Sharoon Siraj and Mohammad Talha launched a recovery with a cautious partnership for the fourth wicket.
The duo batted sensibly against a charged Stallions’ bowling attack and added 77 runs for the fourth wicket, conceding 92 balls in the process.
The budding partnership finally ended in the 25th over when Maaz Sadaqat sent Siraj packing. He scored 38 off 50 deliveries with the help of three boundaries including a six.
Taha followed suit in the next over, falling victim to Adil Amin after scoring a gritty 47 off 59 deliveries, laced up with two fours and as many sixes.
The Lions then lost two more wickets in quick succession and consequently slipped to 140/7 in 30.4 overs.
But, a sensational eighth-wicket partnership between Ahmed Daniyal and Aamer Yamin pulled the side out of trouble.
The duo added 81 runs in 80 deliveries amid their defiant stand, which lasted with Yamin getting run out in the 44th over.
The seasoned all-rounder smashed three fours and two sixes on his way to a 57-ball 46.
Meanwhile, Daniyal continued to dominate the Stallions’ bowlers and carried his bat all the way through with an unbeaten half-century.
He remained the top-scorer for the Lions with a 59-ball 65, peppered with one four and five sixes.
Ubaid Shah was the standout bowler for the Stallions, picking up three wickets while Adil and Maaz bagged two wickets apiece.
The Lions will now face Markhors in Qualifier 2 of the Champions One-Day Cup, scheduled on Friday.
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