By Alam Zeb Safi
LAHORE: Mohammad Naeem (60) and Parvez Hossain Emon (45) shared a rapid partnership and then the bowlers did well to enable Lahore Qalandars to notch their second win as they defeated Multan Sultans by 20 runs in a rain-curtailed HBL PSL 11 match at Gaddafi Stadium on Friday.
Naeem and Emon shared an explosive 86 off just 31 balls to catapult Qalandars to 185-5 in the stipulated 13 overs.
In response, Sultans were restricted to 165-5, with skipper Ashton Turner scoring an unbeaten 22-ball 52 and Shan Masood chipping in with an electrifying 18-ball 44.
Set to score 186, Multan Sultans had a poor start when Shaheen Afridi removed Steve Smith for a 10-ball nine, hitting two fours.
In the next over, young pacer Ubaid Shah removed Josh Philippe for a two-ball one to leave Sultans struggling at 18-2.
Soon afterwards, Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman got a key wicket when he had in-form Sahibzada Farhan caught by Abdullah Shafique for a 15-ball 24. Farhan, who hit a century in his previous game, struck two sixes and a four.
In the fifth over, Farhan hit Shaheen Afridi for two successive sixes and Shan Masood followed with a boundary as the over yielded 20 runs.
Masood then batted fluently for his 44 off 18 balls, hitting seven fours and a six. When Masood was trapped lbw by Mustafizur Rahman, Sultans were 100-4 in the 10th over, with the required rate climbing sharply.
Ashton Turner and Arafat Minhas added 57 runs for the fifth wicket in an entertaining stand before Sikandar Raza dismissed Arafat for a brisk 11-ball 25, which included two sixes and a four.
Turner remained unbeaten on 52 off 22 balls, hitting five sixes and two fours, but it was not enough as Sultans finished on 165-5, well short of the target.
Mustafizur Rahman was the pick of the bowlers with 2-37 in three overs, while Shaheen Afridi, Ubaid Shah and Sikandar Raza took one wicket each.
Earlier, in the fourth over bowled by Ubaid Shah, Shan Masood mistimed a shot that went high towards deep backward point. Fielders Asif and Emon converged from different angles, both attempting the catch. Focused on the ball, they collided heavily and fell to the ground, allowing the ball to spill free for four runs. Emon appeared to come off worse, holding his shoulder, and was later taken off the field.
After being invited to bat first in the 13-overs-a-side match following heavy rain, Mohammad Naeem and Parvez Hossain Emon gave Lahore Qalandars a brisk start.
The pair dominated the bowlers to power their side to 185-5.
Naeem was the cornerstone of the innings, adding 86 runs for the opening stand with Emon. Medium pacer Mohammad Ismail broke the stand when he dismissed Emon for a 19-ball 45, which included five sixes and two fours.
Emon hit left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz for two sixes and a four in the fourth over, which yielded 19 runs, and followed it up by hitting spinner Faisal Akram for three successive sixes in the fifth over.
Naeem continued the momentum, adding 58 runs for the second wicket with Abdullah Shafique, who scored a 14-ball 33 before falling to Ismail.
Naeem was dismissed by Faisal Akram for a 28-ball 60, which included four sixes and four fours. His half-century came off 24 balls.
He set the tone early, hitting Ismail for three fours in an over that yielded 26 runs, and later struck Mohammad Wasim Junior for two sixes in another over.
Sikandar Raza contributed an unbeaten 13 off eight balls to help Qalandars post a strong total. The side made 66 runs in the powerplay of 3.5 overs.
Ismail was the most successful bowler with 2-47 in three overs, while Peter Siddle (1-26 in 3) and Faisal Akram (1-31 in 2) also took wickets.
The win lifted Qalandars to second place with four points from three matches, while Sultans dropped to third with the same number of points but an inferior net run rate.
The match was officiated by Chris Gaffaney and Tariq Rasheed, with Faisal Afridi as the television umpire, Abdul Muqeet as reserve umpire and Ali Naqvi as match referee.
Islamabad United will face Rawalpindi at the same venue on Saturday.
