Pakistan Champions One-Day Cup , Match 8: Irfan's hurricane century secures Nurpur Lions' first victory

Muhammad Irfan Khan

©PCB

By Cricket World

Friday 20 September 2024

Pakistan Champions One-Day Cup

Match 8, Faisalabad

Lions-Pak won by 35 runs.

Lions-Pak367/6

Markhors-Pak332/9

Scorecard

Stats

Downloads

Urdu-Match-Report_006036.pdf

Muhammad Irfan Khan's blistering century was the decisive factor as Nurpur Lions claimed a 35-run win over UMT Markhors in the eighth match of the Bahria Town Champions One-Day Cup. The Lions set a challenging target of 368 runs, and despite a valiant effort, the Markhors could only reach 332-9 in their allotted 50 overs at Iqbal Stadium on Friday night.

Match Summary

Lions vs Markhors, Match 8

Lions-Pak 367/6 (50 ov)

Markhors-Pak 332/9 (50 ov)

Lions-Pak won by 35 runs.

SCORECARD

Match Analysis

This was Markhors’ first loss in the tournament while the Lions bagged much needed first win keeping their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs alive with the crucial game against the Engro Dolphins set to be played on 22 September.

Irfan Khan hit 10 sixes and five fours in his 56-ball unbeaten century while also sharing a 147-run fifth-wicket partnership with Khushdil Shah. That the Lions were able to post the highest total of the tournament was largely due to the 124 runs accumulated in the last 10 overs.

Earlier, after opting to bat first, Lions’ opening batters Abdullah Shafique (52, 64b, 2x4s, 2x6s) and Imam-ul-Haq (51, 56b, 7x4s) gave a solid start to their team with a 110-run opening stand. Apart from Irfan’s heroics, Lions also benefitted from Khushdil’s aggressive knock which included four boundaries and five sixes as he scored 73 off just 45 balls.

For the Markhors, apart from Zahid Mehmood’s 2-49, Mohammad Imran Jr, Muhammad Imran and Iftikhar Ahmed picked up one wicket each. Fakhar Zaman’s 82 and Salman Ali Agha’s 69 were not enough for Markhors as Lions struck at regular intervals to keep them at bay. Fakhar hit eight fours and four sixes as he stitched an 88-run opening partnership with Bismillah Khan (20, 28b, 3x4s) but soon they were reduced to 163-4 and 192-5.

After Iftikhar Ahmed (25, 33b, 1x4, 2x6s) and Mohammad Rizwan (20, 22b, 1x6) failed to convert their starts, Salman Ali Agha and Abdul Samad threated the Lions with a 47-run sixth-wicket partnership off 32 balls.

Samad hit 42 off 37 balls clubbing three fours and two sixes while Salman looked more threatening in his 39-ball outing which yielded 69 runs with the help of seven fours and four sixes before the both were removed in the 38^th and 46^th overs, respectively.

Aamer Yamin, Ahmed Daniyal, Khushdil Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi took two wickets each to restrict the Markhors to 332-9 in 50 overs.

Match Stats

Lions Fall of wickets: 1-110 (Imam ul Haq - 19.2 ov), 2-117 (Abdullah Shafique - 21.4 ov), 3-173 (Omair Yousuf - 30.5 ov), 4-181 (Mohammad Taha Khan - 33.3 ov), 5-328 (Khushdil Shah - 46.4 ov), 6-345 (Aamer Yamin - 48.1 ov)

Markhors Fall of wickets: 1-88 (Bismillah Khan - 11.2 ov), 2-109 (Kamran Ghulam - 15.5 ov), 3-144 (Fakhar Zaman - 22.5 ov), 4-163 (Iftikhar Ahmed - 26.3 ov), 5-192 (Mohammad Rizwan - 32.1 ov), 6-239 (Abdul Samad - 37.3 ov), 7-302 (Mohammad Imran Randhawa - 44.1 ov), 8-316 (Agha Salman - 45.4 ov), 9-320 (Mohammad Imran - 47.2 ov)

Playing XI

Lions