You will remember the match of T20 World Cup 2016 in which Bangladesh came very close to defeating India. 10 runs were required in the last ...
You will remember the match of T20 World Cup 2016 in which Bangladesh came very close to defeating India. 10 runs were required in the last over and Mushfiqur Rahim hit fours off 2 consecutive balls to Hardik Pandya.
2 runs were needed on 3 balls and Mushfiqur's confidence was reaching new heights. Here, the deal to hit the winning six was in his mind, in this attempt, he was caught at deep mid-wicket.
Mahmudullah also failed in a similar attempt on the next ball and Mustafizur Rehman's run out on the last ball defeated Bangladesh and proved how a winning match can be lost. Another example of this was shown to us by Islamabad United at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore yesterday.
In pursuit of the target, only 44 runs were required from 38 balls and 6 wickets were left. If Islamabad does not play with 'mind' then who is to blame? It is not known when a beautiful dream turned into a nightmare until Lahore Qalandars reached the final of Pakistan Super League for the second time in history after winning the last over in an incredible manner.
How did it get here? This is a long story because there are many twists and turns in the story of this match. We don't see as many ups and downs in Pakistani dramas as we did in this match. However, the gist of this episode was that Lahore won by 6 runs.
What if not pride?
Until now, it was thought that the formula for defeating Lahore was simple, that is, take out Fakhr Zaman and take control of Lahore. Islamabad not only bowled Fakhr in the first over but also showed the way to the pavilion with the opener Phil Salt who came with them.
It was as if the match had come to a head. But here young Abdullah Shafiq and Kamran Ghulam formed a partnership, which laid the foundation for Lahore's success. Both added 73 runs off just 42 balls for the third wicket. Thanks to him, the total reached 82 runs in 10 overs.
A frustrating step
After the initial setbacks, Lahore had a good base and the inexperienced batsmen could have taken full advantage of it, but Mohammad Hafeez and his teammate Samat Patel could not do so.
Lahore managed to add only 38 runs in 6 overs. Mohammad Hafeez was dismissed in the 19th over after a disappointing innings of 28 off 28 balls while Smith scored 21 off 18 balls.
Turning point
Turning point
When 19 overs of Lahore's innings were completed, there were only 141 runs on the scoreboard and David Wiese stood with Shaheen Afridi. They came and saw Na Tao and Waqas fell on Maqsood.
Two of the first three balls went for a six and one got a four towards the Fine League and on the way he got another great six off the fifth ball. Visa scored a total of 27 runs in Waqas' over.
This moment proved to be the turning point of the match as it helped Lahore reach the point where it somehow managed to beat Islamabad. Muhammad Hafeez also scored 28 runs but played the same number of balls while Visa also scored 28 runs, but only on 8 balls.
This moment proved to be the turning point of the match as it helped Lahore reach the point where it somehow managed to beat Islamabad. Muhammad Hafeez also scored 28 runs but played the same number of balls while Visa also scored 28 runs, but only on 8 balls.
It was one of the most beautiful moments of the day. In the last over, thousands of spectators in the stadium were chanting slogans in the name of 'Visa' and they were responding to their every appeal and receiving high and high sixes.
You are kings!
Islamabad got off to a great start in pursuit of the target. Earlier in the over, Paul Sterling had shown his intentions by hitting Shaheen Afridi with a six and a four. But Shaheen came back with the whole plan in the next over and got rid of not only Sterling but also the incoming batsman Will Jax.
Before the end of the power play, the wickets of Shadab Khan and Liam Dawson also went and Islamabad was completely on the back foot. Dawson's wicket was entirely Kamran Ghulam's, who fielded well and ran him out.
The second twist in the story
At this point Lahore was completely dominated but the second turn came in the story! Azam-Hales continued to move slowly, hitting sixes and fours until he reached 107 by the end of the 12th over.
Standing on the long off here, Shaheen Afridi dropped Azam Khan's catch and the salt on the wounds was that it was six. Haris Rauf's wide ball was bowled on the next ball and then Zaman Khan also dropped a catch. That is, apply salt and pepper on the wounds.
Now only Islamabad itself could stop Islamabad. He needed just 44 runs off 38 balls and Lahore's hands and feet were swollen. Here comes the point which we can call the starting point of the fall of Islamabad United, namely Azam Khan's run out!
Harris Rauf had already caught 2 great catches and now his next feat was a direct throw, which took Azam Khan before he reached the wickets. This was Azam Khan's third run out of the season which shows his weak ability to run between the wickets.
However, the deficit was met by the dismissal of Alex Hales in Harris' next over. Thus, 2 sets of batsmen were back in the dugout. Azam scored 40 off 28 balls and Hales scored 38 off 29 balls.
And the light of the brain went out
Even then Islamabad needed 39 off 29 balls which was a very achievable target. But it was as if the light in his brain had gone out. Hassan Ali and Asif Ali could have easily won the match, especially when they got 13 runs with the help of 2 fours in the last over of Shaheen. Hassan Ali also got a new lease of life on the nine-ball but he had decided not to play with his brain.
Hassan Ali was out first and after hitting a sharp six to Haris Rauf in the next over, what came to Asif's mind was that he went for another six. There was no need to take such a risk when 8 runs were required from 7 balls. That too against a dangerous bowler like Harris.
At that time, the overs of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan were all over and the last over had to be done by David Visay.
Well, Asif decided to hit the ball on the last ball of Harris' day and the result was what it should have been. Long on was caught and the match went hand in hand! I don't know why Mushfiqur Rahim was remembered after watching this scene.
The last nail in the coffin
Islamabad needed 8 runs in the last over with only 2 wickets left. United also decided to put the last nail in their coffin here.
Muhammad Waseem did not run the available runs on the first two balls as he wanted to finish the match himself. If the shot did not hit the third ball, then Badal ran unintentionally but decided to run 2 runs instead of one run, which was like a suicide.
They were run out and the matter came to the last player, who really had no choice but to turn the bat blindly. Waqas Maqsood performed this 'duty' on the first ball and walked as expected.
In the last 3 overs, every Islamabad batsman tried to take the winning shot, but the fact was that there was no need to take high shots at that time.
In Islamabad's innings, 3 players were also run out, one Liam Dawson, the other Azam Khan and at the end of the third Muhammad Wasim and all three gave their wickets at very critical stages. Lahore took full advantage of these opportunities and pulled victory from the jaws of defeat.
Now there will be a great competition!
With this it was decided who will play the final of Pakistan Super League ie Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars, the same teams which were occupying the top 2 positions after the league stage and also came face to face in the qualifiers. We can say that two teams have reached the final that really deserved to play in the final.
Defending champions Multan Sultans have lost just one match so far this season, and Lahore Qalandars are the only team to have beaten Multan. Although Lahore had lost to Multan in the qualifiers, it seems that the 'Punjab Derby' final will see a tough competition.
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