GUYANA: Lahore Qalandars edge past Hampshire Hawks in a thrilling encounter to register their first victory in the ongoing inaugural edition of Global Super League (GSL) here at Providence Stadium on Saturday.
Lahore Qalandars opted to bat first after winning the toss but the decision backfired as they lost two early wickets with only six runs on the board.
Adam Rossington (30) and Mohammad Faizan (19) then knitted a cautious 31-run stand from 28 balls to help their team recover before Benny Howell castled the former.
Tom Abell scored a scratchy 21 off 27 before Luke Wells and Muhammad Akhlaq’s sixth-wicket partnership of 44 runs took Lahore Qalandars to the respectable total of 135-5 in 20 overs.
Wells scored an unbeaten 35 off 24 with one boundary and two sixes while Akhlaq struck 23 off 12 with three sixes.
In response, Hampshire Hawks managaed to score 131-8, courtesy of a discplines bowling performance by Lahore Qalandars.
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Opening batter Tom Prest top-scored with 30 off 22, while Benny Howell and James Fuller played quick cameos of 25 and 26* but could not take their team across the line.
They needed 21 runs in the last over bowled by Lahore Qalandars’ captain Carlos Brathwaite and Fuller struck two sixes to take his team close to the victory.
However, they needed five runs off the final ball but Fuller could only manage a single, losing the match by a close four-run margin.
Tabraiz Shamsi took three wickets for Qalandars, while Brathwaite, Wells and Asif Afridi bagged one wicket each.
For the unversed, apart from Lahore Qalandars and Hampshire Hawks, the inaugural season of GSL features Caribbean Premier League (CPL) team Guyana Amazon Warriors, Rangpur Riders of Bangladesh and Victoria from Australia.
Currently, Victoria are placed at the top having defeated Guyana Amazon Warriors in their solitary match. Meanwhile, Rangpur Riders after losing to Hampshire Hawks in the Super Over are lying at the bottom.
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