Fakhar Zaman scores a century as Lahore Qalandars defeat Karachi Kings

The Qalandars opener scored 106 runs off 60 balls – the 11th century in the tournament’s history and first in PSL7 – as his side chased down 170 with four balls to spare

Karachi: Karachi Kings 170-7, Lahore Qalandars 174-4 – Lahore Qalandars won by six wickets

Fakhar Zaman scored a century as Lahore Qalandars defeated Karachi Kings by six wickets in the 2022 Pakistan Super League.

The opener smashed 106 runs off 60 deliveries (12 fours, four sixes) before being dismissed in the penultimate over as his side chased down 170 with four balls to spare.

The 31-year-old’s hundred, the second of his T20 career, was the 11th to be scored in the tournament’s history and the second for Lahore Qalandars – Chris Lynn scored 113 not out against Multan Sultans in PSL5.

The victory was Lahore’s first of the season following their five-wicket defeat to Multan Sultans on January 30. Karachi Kings are yet to get points on the board after three matches.

Having failed to score more than 130 runs in either of their previous two matches, it was an improved performance with the bat from Karachi Kings, with Sharjeel Khan (60 off 39) and Babar Azam (41 off 33) enjoying a productive 84-run opening stand off 61 deliveries.

^{Haris Rauf took 3 for 33 for Lahore Qalandars [Asif Hassan/AFP via Getty Images]}

However, when Sharjeel Khan was removed by Mohammad Hafeez one ball after drinks, the Kings struggled to piece together any lasting partnerships. The second half of the innings yielded 86 runs and seven wickets, with a 21-run sixth-wicket stand off 11 balls between Joe Clarke and Sahibzada Farhan the pick of the batting.

Haris Rauf, pummelled at the death in Lahore’s previous match, took 3 for 33 from his four overs while Shaheen Shah Afridi (1 for 31), Zamar Khan (1 for 39), Rahid Khan (1 for 24) and Hafeez (1 for 4) were the other wicket-takers.

In reply, the Qalandars didn’t set the game on fire for the opening 12 overs, scoring steadily to reach 90 for 3 with Abdullah Shafique (eight), Kamran Ghulam (six) and Hafeez (24) back in the shed.

However, in the company of Samit Patel, Zaman burst into life, putting on 74 runs off just 42 balls – the opener contributed 56 off 27 to the partnership – before being removed by Umaid Asif (caught Imad Wasim) with seven balls to spare.

Fortunately, his side only required a further seven runs to win and the experienced Patel dispatched fellow Englishman Lewis Gregory for twin fours to seal the two points.

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