RAWALPINDI: Lions paceman Shahid Aziz successfully defended 16 runs to give his team an eight-run win over Panthers in the crucial Champions T20 Cup match here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Panthers, set 161 to win, finished on 152-6 in their allotted overs with Danish Aziz scoring an unbeaten 38 off 27 balls with five boundaries. Opener Umar Siddiq scored a 28-ball 38, hitting one six and four boundaries.

Sajid Khan struck two sixes in his eight-ball 17 while Amad Butt scored an unbeaten 13-ball 16 but those were not enough. For Lions, spinner Sharoon Siraj bagged three wickets for 19.

The victory gave Lions eight points from seven matches and a better net run-rate to lift them to second in the tournament standings. Markhors are top of the table with 10 points while Stallions are third with eight points.

The defeat left Panthers on fourth with six points while Dolphins are pointless with six defeats in as many matches.

Sent into bat, Lions had a solid start with Imam-ul-Haq and Hasan Nawaz putting 85 in 7.2 overs. Imam cracked eight boundaries and a six in his 36-ball 57 while Hasan’s 22-ball 41 were spiced with three sixes and four boundaries. But once Nawaz fell to spinner Sajid, the innings fell apart.

Lions slumped from 110-1 to 160 all out with four balls of the stipulated 20 overs remaining unused.

Shahzaib Khan 16 and Khushdil Shah with 13 were the other batters with double figures. Leg-spinner Usama Mir returned with figures of 4-23 in his four overs while pacer Mohammad Wasim Jr took 2-22.

Scores in brief:

LIONS 160 in 19.2 overs (Imam-ul-Haq 57, Hasan Nawaz 41, Shahzaib Khan 16; Usama Mir 4-23, Mohammad Wasim Jr 2-22); PANTHERS 152-6 in 20 overs (Danish Aziz 38 not out, Umar Siddiq 38; Sharoon Siraj 3-19).

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2024