FAISALABAD – In a match played in Faisalabad, the Lions claimed their first win of the tournament, defeating the Markhors by 35 runs.
Batting first, the Lions posted a total of 367 for 6 wickets. Irfan Khan played an unbeaten knock of 100 off 56 balls, including 5 sixes and 10 fours.
Khushdil Shah added 73, Abdullah Shafique contributed 52, and Imam-ul-Haq scored 51 runs. Zahid Mahmood took 2 wickets for the Markhors.
In response to the 368-run target, opener Fakhar Zaman gave the Markhors a solid start, but wickets kept falling at the other end. Bismillah Khan scored 20, Kamran Ghulam 8, Iftikhar Ahmed 25, Mohammad Rizwan 20, and Abdul Samad made 42 runs, while Fakhar Zaman top-scored with 82.
Lower-order batsman Salman Ali Agha hit 4 sixes to score 69, but after his dismissal, the Markhors’ hopes of victory faded. They finished with 332 for 9 in 50 overs, handing the Lions a 35-run win.
For the Lions, Shaheen Afridi, Aamir Yamin, Ahmed Daniyal, and Khushdil Shah took 2 wickets each.
This was the Lions’ first win in the event after playing 3 matches, having lost 2.
Meanwhile, the Markhors remain at the top of the table with 3 wins from 4 matches.
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