Lahore Lions wicketkeeper Umar Amkal’s scorching 38 not out off 18 balls capped a delightful debut for Lahore Lions in the Champions League Twenty20 on Saturday night.
The Pakistan T20 domestic champions packed too many guns to stun holders Mumbai Indians by six wickets at the Chhatisgarh Stadium in Raipur.
They first restricted the powerful Mumbai batting line-up to 135- 7 on a damp pitch and when pitted against an experienced bowling attack, the Lions played smart cricket and timed their acceleration perfectly to finish with two points on the board.
Opener Ahmed Shehzad (34 off 33 balls) guided the chase at the start in the company of Nasir Jamshed (26 off 24 balls) as they raised 51 runs off 7.5 overs for the first wicket.
But spinners Harbhajan Singh (1-26) and Pragyan Ojha (2-18) pulled it back for Mumbai as Lahore struggled in the middle overs.
When Saeed Nasim (6) was dismissed in the 14th over, Lahore needed 55 runs from 36 balls. But Akmal broke the shackles with an explosive batting display smashing four fours and two sixes to swing the game Lahore’s way.
A delighted Lahore captain Mohammad Hafeez credited his bowlers for setting up the win before an “exceptional” Akmal sealed it. “The Bowlers did their job, the late overs were very good, everyone bowled well,” he said. “I knew one good partnership would make the difference, and Umar was exceptional.”
Opener Jamshed believes the victory has raised their qualification hopes. He said: “It was a good pitch, but because of the weather, it helped the pacers as well. We have very experienced players, seven international players, hopefully we will qualify. The morale is very high after this win, because Mumbai Indians is a very big team.”
The top order had been a point of concern through the IPL for Mumbai and those same concerns followed them to the Champions League. Fast bowler Aizaz Cheema’s nagging lines forced Mumbai to slip from a sedate 20 for no loss in the third over to 23 for 3 in the fourth.
Opener Michael Hussey (28 off 26 balls) and wicketkeeper Aditya Tare (37 off 36 balls) stemmed the rot with a 44-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Hussey was fourth batsman to be dismissed when he edged Wahab Riaz to the wicket-keeper in the 12th over. Tare carried on until the 18th over before holing out to midwicket. He struck two boundaries and as many sixes.
Cameos from Harbhajan Singh (18 from 10 balls) and Praveen Kumar (20 from 14 balls) helped the Mumbai Indians to a respectable 135 for 7. Four of the six Lahore bowers finished with an economy rate of six or lesser. Cheema was the most successful with figures of two for 22 from his four overs.
Mumbai captain Kieron Pollard admitted the road ahead has become difficult but warned his side is known to make late comebacks. “The pressure is on us, we have never won Champions League easy, it is important that we bring our A-game tomorrow.”
Mumbai will take on Northern Knights in their second match today while Lahore will face Sri Lanka’s Southern Express.
