RAWALPINDI: A swashbuckling hundred from opener Yasir Ali and another brilliant bowling display by Mohammad Ali saw Stallions clinch the Champions T20 Cup title as they beat Markhors by 75 runs in the final here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Yasir cracked a 57-ball 100 with seven towering sixes and five boundaries to propel Stal­lions to 199-5 in 20 overs before Ali destroyed Markhors with 3-19 restricting them to 124 all out in 19.1 overs.

Chasing a daunting 200-run target, Markhors lost wickets at regular intervals. They relied heavily on Fakhar Zaman who failed to follow up his belli­g­e­rent 89 in the Qualifiers, falling for 20 to Jahandad Khan, who finished with 2-31.

Spinner Usman Tariq took 2-10 in his four tight overs.

Mohammad Faizan smashed three sixes and as many fours in his 33-ball 43 while skipper Iftikhar Ahmed scored 21-ball 22. Markhors’ promising players Abdul Samad and Saad Masood failed to score that summed up their team’s below-par batting.

It was Yasir all the way in Stallions’ innings after they opted to bat with an idea to put a solid total on the board.

Maaz Sadaqat hit the first ball of the innings from Mohammad Nawaz for a six while Yasir smas­hed two more maximums to show clear intentions. Pacer Akif Jav­ed, pick of the bowlers with 2-32, dismissed Maaz in the third over to bring Markhors back in the match.

Markhors had an ideal opportunity to get Yasir out on 12 but Akif Javed dropped a skier off Nisar Ahmed and it cost them dearly.

Yasir benefitted with smashing ways, adding 41 for the second wicket with skipper Mohammad Haris whose 15-ball 21 had two sixes. Hussain Talat managed just nine, while Tayyab Tahir scored 17 runs.

Yasir, the 22-year-old from Bannu in the Khyber Pakht­unkhwa province, reached his half-century off 33 balls with a six off Nawaz and then lifted the tempo. From 88 he smashed two sixes to reach his second T20 century off 56 balls. He later holed out off Faizan.

Jahandad cracked two sixes and a boundary in his ten-ball 22 not out to get Stallions to 199-5 in 20 overs.

Ali finished as the top bowler with 22 wickets, admirably starring in his team’s triumph in the tournament.

Scoreboard

STALLIONS:

Yasir Khan c Nawaz b Faizan 100

Maaz Sadaqat c Nawaz b Akif 15

Mohammad Haris b Nawaz 21

Hussain Talat c Fakhar b Imran Jnr 9

Tayyab Tahir c Fakhar b Akif 17

Jahandad Khan not out 22

Shoaib Malik not out 6

EXTRAS (LB-3, W-6) 9

TOTAL (for five wickets, 20 overs) 199

DID NOT BAT: Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Ali

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-28 (Maaz), 2-69 (Haris), 3-85 (Hussain), 4-159 (Tayyab), 5-183 (Yasir)

BOWLING: Nawaz 3-0-35-1, Nisar 4-0-55-0 (2w), Akif 4-0-32-2, Imran Jnr 4-0-28-1 (1w), Imran 4-0-32-0 (1w), Faizan 1-0-14-1

MARKHORS:

Fakhar Zaman b Jahandad 20

Khawaja Nafay c Abrar b Ali 6

Mohammad Faizan c Haris b Abrar 43

Mohammad Imran c Yasir b Usman 7

Iftikhar Ahmed c Haris b Ali 22

Saad Masood c Haris b Usman 0

Abdul Samad run out (Haris) 0

Mohammad Nawaz c & b Ali 15

Nisar Ahmad c Haris b Jahandad 1

Akif Javed c Abrar b Hussain 2

Imran Jnr not out 0

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-7) 8

TOTAL (all out, 19.1 overs) 124

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-14 (Nafay), 2-41 (Fakhar), 4-66 (Imran), 5-84 (Faizan), 6-85 (Saad), 7-87 (Samad), 8-109 (Iftikhar), 9-117 (Nisar)

BOWLING: Jahandad 4-0-31-2 (4w), Ali 4-0-19-3 (1w), Abrar 4-0-35-1 (2w), Haris 3-0-28-0, Usman 4-0-10-2, Hussain 0.1-0-0-1

RESULT: Stallions won by 75 runs.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2024