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Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi remained composed despite a close four-wicket defeat against Karachi Kings in a rain-affected Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 clash at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday night.
The Qalandars, in a shortened 15-over contest, posted a strong 160/8, a total powered by blistering half-centuries from openers Mohammad Naeem and Fakhar Zaman.
Naeem led the charge with a fiery 65 off 29 deliveries, smashing six fours and five sixes, while Fakhar chipped in with a 33-ball 51 featuring four boundaries and three maximums.
Chasing a revised target of 168, the Kings rode on Irfan Khan Niazi’s explosive unbeaten 48 off 21 balls, laced with five sixes and two fours, to cross the finish line with three balls to spare and six wickets down.
His onslaught included three consecutive sixes off Shaheen’s over — a decisive moment in the contest. But Shaheen remained unfazed, taking the loss in stride.
“It’s all part of the game. Whoever plays better cricket on the day deserves to win,” Shaheen said post-match. “It’s not the end of the tournament — we’ll come back stronger when we meet them again in the knockouts.”
The left-arm pacer also pointed out that rain altered the dynamics of the game.
“It was a used pitch, not easy to bat on early. But once the rain came, the ball started coming on better and that shifted the momentum,” he noted.
Shaheen Afridi reserved special praise for Mohammad Naeem, who continued to impress at the top of the order.
“Naeem is a special talent. He’s going to be crucial for us in the upcoming matches,” he added. “We’ll take the positives from this game, address the areas we fell short in, and aim to bounce back stronger.”
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