Lynn, Fakhar steer Qalandars into semi-finals

ISLAMABAD: Chris Lynn scored his career-best 113 not out as Lahore Qalandars defeated Multan Sultans by nine wickets at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium to book a spot in the HBL Pakistan Super League 2020 semi-finals.

This was the 29-year-old’s second century in T20 cricket in which he smashed 12 fours and eight sixes.

Over the course of his 55-ball knock, Lynn crafted a blazing 100-run opening partnership — stretching over 54 balls — with Fakhar Zaman (57), who scored his second half-century of the season, that set the tone for Qalandars to surmount the 187-run target with seven balls spare.

He then paired with Sohail Akhtar for an unbeaten 91-run stand in which the Qalandars captain mostly took the backseat to watch Lynn smack Sultans’ bowlers all over the dial.

Qalandars’ openers made the most of the Powerplay overs, hitting 12 fours and a six to bring up 72 runs in 36 balls.

Fakhar scored an impressive 57 — which included seven fours and two sixes — in his 35-ball-long stay at the crease. He was stumped off Usman Qadir, playing his maiden PSL match, on the last ball of the ninth over.

That the Qalandars’ batsmen had a towering total to chase was due to Khushdil Shah’s blistering 70 not out, which he had scored at a strike rate of 241.

The left-handed batsman came into bat with Sultans 79-3 in 11 overs and clubbed five fours and six sixes.

The 25-year-old showcased his batting prowess in the death overs as he clobbered Haris Rauf for two and three maximums in the 17th and 20th overs, respectively and dispatched Dilbar Hussain for three fours and a six in the 18th over as Sultans piled up 77 runs in the last five overs.

Prior to Khushdil’s arrival at the crease, Shan Masood (42 off 29) and Ravi Bopara (33 off 36) knitted a 75-run stand to provide stability to Sultans’ innings after the dismissals of their openers Moeen Ali (one off five) and Zeeshan Ashraf (two off three) in the first two overs.

Qalandars’ Shaheen Shah Afridi and David Wiese dismissed two batsmen each, while Mohammad Hafeez picked up a wicket.

Despite the defeat, Multan Sultans finish the group stage at the top of the points table with 14 points from six wins. Lahore Qalandars finish at the third spot with 10 points — coming from five wins.

Scores in brief: Multan Sultans 186-6 in 20 overs (Khushdil Shah 70 not out, Shan Masood 42, Ravi Bopara 33, Rohail Nazir 24; Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-23, David Wiese 2-24). Lahore Qalandars 191-1 in 18.5 overs (Chris Lynn 113 not out, Fakhar Zaman 57).