Lahore Lions crush Hyderabad Hawks by 82 runs

KARACHI: Lahore Lions defeated Hyderabad Hawks by 82 runs in the second match of the Faisal Bank National Twenty20 Cup 2011 being played here at the National Stadium on Sunday.

Chasing an improbable target of 195, Hyderabad Hawks were bundled out for 112 runs in 18.4 overs. All their batsmen except four failed to get into double-figures.

The main scorers were Sharjeel Khan (30), Faisal Athar (23) and Azeem Ghumman (20).

For Lahore Lions, slow left-arm spinner Raza Ali Dar and left-arm fast-medium bowler Wahab Riaz claimed two wickets for nine and 19 runs, respectively.

Earlier, openers Ahmed Shehzad and Kamran Akmal guided Lahore Lions to set a difficult target of 195 runs for Hyderabad Hawks.

After being put into bat by Hyderabad Hawks captain Azeem Ghumman, Lahore Lions piled up a big total of 194 runs for the loss of five wickets in the allotted 20 overs.

Ahmed Shehzad and Kamran Akmal provided a solid start of 116 runs in 12 overs on the basis of which other batsmen easily took the score to 194.

Both openers hit half-centuries as Ahmed made 72 off 50 balls with nine boundaries and Kamran scored 62 from 41 deliveries with seven fours and a six.

Kamran’s younger brother Umar was unbeaten on 33.

Off-break bowler Nasir Owais took three wickets for Hyderabad Hawks.