All-round Stallions thump Lions to script triumphant Champions Cup start

FAISALABAD: A combined batting effort, followed by Haris Rauf’s 3/43 powered Stallions to a thumping 133-run victory over Lions in the second match of the Champions One-Day Cup here at Iqbal Stadium on Friday.

Set to chase 337, the Lions’ batting unit unfolded on a meagre 203 in the 40th over, thus succumbing to a dismal start to their Champions One-Day Cup campaign.

Opening batter Imam-ul-Haq waged a lone battle for the Lions with a gutsy 78-run knock while the next best contribution was Sharoon Siraj’s 28.

All-rounder Aamer Yamin and skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi were the other notable run-getters for the Lions with 22 each while the rest seemed clueless against a disciplined Stallions’ bowling attack.

Haris Rauf led the bowling attack for the Stallions, picking up three wickets, followed by Jahandad Khan and Mohammad Ali, who bagged two wickets each.

Abrar Ahmed, Hussain Talat and Mehran Mumtaz, on the other hand, shared three wickets between them.

Stallions’ captain Mohammad Haris’ decision to bat first after winning the toss, bore fruits as his batters responded well by accumulating 336/5 in the allotted overs.

The Stallions, however, had a cautious start to their innings as they lost opening batter Yasir Khan (13) in the eighth over with just 35 runs on the board.

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Star batter Babar Azam then joined Shan Masood in the middle and together they raised 39 runs for the second wicket until the latter was cleaned up by Faisal Akram in the 16th over.

Masood fell narrowly short of his well-deserved half-century, scoring 41 off 53 deliveries with the help of six fours.

Babar Azam then joined forces with Tayyab Tahir and the duo batted sensibly to anchor the Stallions’ innings.

Babar and Tayyab registered a brilliant 114-run partnership for the third wicket amid which both scored half-centuries.

Babar finally perished in the 35th over, attempting to pull Shaheen Afridi for a six, but ended up being caught at deep mid-wicket.

He remained the top-scorer for Stallions with a 79-ball 76, which featured nine fours.

Tayyab soon followed suit as he walked back in the 39th over after getting bowled by Aamir Jamal. He smashed seven fours and two sixes on his way to a 72-ball 74.

Skipper Mohammad Haris and experienced Hussain Talat then bolstered Stallions’ total with a brisk 88-run partnership, which lasted with the former’s dismissal in the 47th over.

Haris scored 55 off 36 deliveries with the help of four fours and as many sixes, while Talat remained unbeaten with a 33-ball 50, laced up with six fours and a six.

For the Lions, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Aamir Jamal bagged two wickets each while Faisal Akram made one scalp.

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