Afghan super-star Rahid Khan set-up Lahore Qalandars's four-wicket win over Peshawar Zalmi in the second match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 in Lahore on Sunday. (More Cricket News)
In the first match of Sunday's double-header, Qalandars Sohail Akhtar captain won the toss and asked Zalmi to bat first at National Stadium.
Shaheen Afridi provided the last edition's finalists a perfect start by removing opener Imam-ul-Haq (0) with the very first delivery of the match, then Salman Mirza got a brace in the fourth over, removing Kamran Akmal (5) and Haider Ali (0) to leave Zalmi at 19/3. Shoaib Malik (26) and Ravi Bopara (50) steadied the innings, but Rashid Khan produced a miserly spell of four overs for 14 runs without taking a wicket to suffocate the batting side.
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Sherfane Rutherford (26) and Amad Butt (27) helped Zalmi reach 140 with a late flourish, but it eventually proved too small a target.
Fakhar Zaman (15) and (14) added 29 runs for the first wicket as Qalandars started the chase on a confident note. But Zlami skipper Wahab Riaz got rid of Zaman, then Mujeeb Ur Rahman removed Akhtar, with Malik taking both the catches.
But, despite taking four more wickets including two in two balls by Saqib Mahmood, Zalmi failed to break the Mohammad Hafeez-Rashid Khan stand which added 34 runs for the seventh-wicket. Hafeez and Khan remained unbeaten on 33 and 27 runs respectively.
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Khan hit the winning runs, a six off the third ball in the penultimate over.
After the match, the 22-year-old said that "the best feeling is to finish a game with the bat," and added that the winning six was a mini-helicopter shot.
"It is all about the balance, I have all the shots but it is about keeping my balance. I have been struggling with that for the last year or so. It was a mini helicopter," he said.
He will soon feature for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
