Thatโs all from this contest, folks! The Markhors have sealed their spot in the grand finale of the Champions T20 Cup, and they will face the Stallions in the summit clash on Wednesday. For now, it's me Deepak Prakash signing off on behalf of co-commentator Saptak Sanyal and scorer/analyst Asraj Khan. CHEERS!
Iftikhar Ahmed (Markhors Captain):"Fakhar deserves the credit. The way he played was outstanding. He took his time and he proved himself.
When the pressure was there, we were 3 down, I decided to step up to spend some time in the middle. Credit goes to Samad too, he did well. When we were bowling, the ball was gripping for the spinners. Their top order batters are fragile against the spinners and we wanted to take the advantage.
Looking forward to the final. Stallions have a good batting depth and their bowling is good. The sides are equal in my opinion."
Imam-ul-Haq (Lions Captain): "We were the better team, but we didn't play well today, and as a result, we ended up on the losing side. Fakhar is a quality player, and he is known for this. You cannot stop him if it's his day.
He was phenomenal and the credit goes to him as well. We conceded too many runs at the tail end and didn't bat well in the crunch moment.
We failed to build partnerships in the middle, and I got out in the first over, which were the key factors that affected our game."
Fakhar Zaman (Player of the Match):"Knock out matches are crucial. My plans always remain to take time initially. We lost a few wickets and I was looking that if we can score 50 from the first 10, we can overcome with the batting depth we have.
I was having a talk with Iftikhar that we will not give the momentum away. Cricket is like that. You can't give momentum to the team who is having an advantage. I am happy with the way the team performed."
Player of the Match: Fakhar Zaman
Time for the post-match presentations.
7:57 PM IST, 7:27 PM Local Time: An emphatic win for Markhors as they drubbed Lions by 29 runs in the Qualifier, securing their place in the summit clash of Champions T20 Cup. They will face Stallions in the grand finale.
Earlier, after being invited to bat first, Markhors were rocked hard by the Lions as they lost Khawaja Nafay (0), Muhammad Faizan (0), and Muhammad Imran Randhawa (1) in quick succession, with all three falling to Afaq Afridi. Fakhar Zaman held his fort from one end and built small partnerships with Iftikhar Ahmed (14), and Mohammad Nawaz (10), putting the batting back on track. The left-hander displayed maturity and notched up his fifty on the occasion. Muhammad Abdul Samad smashed runs rapidly in the middle and provided a necessary acceleration to the innings. Zaman delivered a scintillating 89 runs off 64 balls, while Samad remained unbeaten on 41 runs off 20 balls, propelling Markhors to 180/6 in 20 overs. Afaq Afridi shone with the ball for the Lions, claiming three wickets. Shahab Khan chipped in with a couple of wickets, while Shahid Aziz contributed a solitary wicket. In response to 180 runs, the Lions lost Imam-ul-Haq (1) and Omair Yousuf (2) cheaply inside 2 overs. Hasan Nawaz and Mohammad Taha paired up in the middle and started building the partnership. The duo shifted gears as the innings progressed and put the batting back on track. However, they failed to convert it into a big score as Iftikhar Ahmed trapped Hasan for 27 runs and broke the partnership. Taha looked good but fell just 6 runs short of his well-deserved fifty as the Lions lost both set batters in quick succession. The wickets of both set batters triggered a collapse for the Lions as they lost wickets regularly and lost control of the match. Muhammad Musa Khan (26*) smashed a few boundaries in the final overs, but it was too late by then for the Lions, as they could only muster 151/9 in their 20-over quota.
Akif Javed starred with the ball for Markhors, claiming three wickets. Nisar Ahmad chipped in with a couple of wickets, while Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Imran JNR, and Muhammad Imran Randhawa contributed one wicket to the Lions' downfall.