FAISALABAD (WS News) – Markhors defeated Stallions by 126 runs in the fourth match of the Champions One-Day Cup at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing 232 runs, Stallions were bowled out for just 105 runs. Zahid Mahmood took five wickets, leading Markhors to register their second win.
Earlier, Jahandad Khan spearheaded the attack as the Stallions bowled out the Markhors for 231 runs in the first innings. The left-arm fast bowler took four wickets for conceding 49 runs.
Despite a few solid contributions, the Markhors struggled to build momentum and put up a competitive score. Mohammad Faizan fell early, caught behind by Mohammad Haris off Mohammad Ali for just 2 runs.
Fakhar Zaman showed some promise, scoring 20 off 24, but was caught by Mohammad Ali off Jahandad’s bowling. Kamran Ghulam added a quick 11 off 13 before being dismissed by Abrar Ahmed.
Captain Mohammad Rizwan fought hard with 33 off 39 but was caught by Abrar off Mehran Mumtaz, leaving the Markhors in need of more stability.
Salman Agha held the innings together with a steady 51 off 72, while Iftikhar Ahmed played aggressively, top-scoring with 60 off 66. Their partnership revived the innings briefly, but Iftikhar was dismissed by Mehran just as the Markhors seemed to gain momentum. Abdul Samad tried to accelerate with a quick 37 off 35, but a sharp catch by Babar Azam, again off Mehran, ended his knock.
The lower order collapsed, with Zahid Mahmood run out without scoring, and Naseem Shah caught by Hussain Talat for a duck off Jahandad. Akif Javed managed 5 off 4, but Shahnawaz Dahani was bowled by Jahandad for 4, closing the innings.
Playing XIs:
Markhors: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Faizan, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Rizwan (c) (wk), Salman Agha, Abdul Samad, Zahid Mahmood, Naseem Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shahnawaz Dahani
Stallions: Shan Masood, Yasir Khan, Babar Azam, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Haris (c) (wk), Hussain Talat, Jahandad Khan, Mehran Mumtaz, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Ali