FAISALABAD: An all-round show by Ahmed Daniyal helped Lions knock Stallions out of the Champions One-day Cup after beating them by 12 runs in the first Eliminator here at the Iqbal Stadium on Wednesday.

Lions’ victory set up their date against Markhors in the second Eliminator, which is set to be played on Friday.

Ahmed’s quickfire unbeaten 65 off 59 balls, after the right-hander had come in to bat at number nine, first boosted Lions to 263-9, before his medium-pace bowling accounted for three wickets as Stallions were bowled out 251 with two balls to spare in what was a thriller.

The match went down to the wire thanks to decent fight put in by Stallions’ middle-order batters — especially all-rounder Jahandad Khan’s effort, before he was run out on the last ball of the encounter after scoring 36 off 32.

The left-hander’s unsuccessful finishing attempt was built on decent contributions by Hussain Talat (32 off 41), Mohammad Mohsin (run-a-ball 30) and skipper Mohammad Haris (30 off 42) — who put up a 39-run partnership with Jahandad before Stallions’ remaining batting line-up was decimated.

While Ahmed took the crucial wickets of Tayyab Tahir (28 off 53), Mohammad Haris and Haris Rauf, Pakistan discard Khushdil Shah was brilliant with his left-arm spin, registering economical figures of 3-40 in his 10 overs.

Earlier, after electing to bat first, Lions were lifted out of trouble by Mohammad Taha (47 off 59) and Sharoon Siraj (38 off 50) after they had found themselves reeling at 43-3 by the 10th over, thanks to pacer Ubaid Shah’s (3-46) destructive opening spell.

Another flurry of wickets following Sharoon’s dismissal in the 25th over saw Lions go down to 140-7 by the 31st, before Ahmed arrived to display his fireworks.

He smashed five sixes and two fours in his innings, receiving able support from Aamer Yamin (46 off 57) at the other end.

Scores in brief:

LIONS 263-9 in 50 overs (Ahmed Daniyal 65 not out; Ubaid Shah 3-46); STALLIONS 251 in 49.4 overs (Yasir Khan 49; Khushdil Shah 3-40).

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2024