Shaheen Afridi-led Lahore Qalandars failed to get a win once again as they were defeated by Shan Masood’s Karachi Kings. With that, Lahore Qalandars have now lost four games on the trot, coming on the back of back to back league titles.
Shan Masood won the toss and decided to chase, which they did successfully. Shaheen Afridi and his men were defeated in front of their home crowd courtesy of a Kieron Pollard special. For the home side, it was Sahibzada Farhan who played a mighty impressive knock, with all their star pacers rising up to the occasion.
On that note, let us look at 3 reasons why Lahore Qalandars couldn’t wrap up the match against Karachi Kings:
(1)One man show and not a team effort with the bat
Lahore Qalandars did get to 175 in their 20 overs, but it was majorly due to Sahibzada Farhan, who played a brilliant knock on a sluggish pitch.
The right-handed opener scored 72 off 45 deliveries, hitting four sixes and as many boundaries. However, he did not get significant support from any other batter except George Linde.
Fakhar Zaman’s lean patch of form continued, while the likes of Jahandad Khan and Ahsan Bhatti failed to make substantial contributions with the bat.
Sikandar Raza, who has arguably been the biggest all-rounder and match winner in the format over the last year or so, returned back to the hut without disturbing the scorecard. Rassie van der Dussen showed promise, but seemed to struggle against spin.
It was Shai Hope who broke the shackles by taking the attack to Tabraiz Shamsi in the 15th over, while it was George Linde who helped Lahore Qalandars reach 175, getting 18 runs, all by himself, in the last over of the innings.
In hindsight, if Rassie van der Dussen played the aggressor during his partnership with Sahibzada Farhan and took some pressure off the latter, or if Shai Hope stayed out there until the end of the innings, it could have been the difference between a 175 and 190 total.
By no means was 175 a bad total, but with the kind of firepower and experience that the Karachi Kings possess, and also with Lahore Qalandar’s lack of bowling depth, it was always going to be chaseable.
(2)Shaheen Afridi with no answers to the experienced duo of Kieron Pollard and Shoaib Malik
After reducing Karachi Kings to 44-4 in the second innings, it seemed like Lahore Qalandars had the game in their pockets. However, it was the massively experienced duo of Kieron Pollard and Shoaib Malik who slowly and steadily took the game away from the Shaheen Afridi-led side.
The 36-year old big man from the West Indies made his intentions clear, hitting two sixes off the first 6 deliveries that he faced. On the other hand, the 42-year old from Pakistan continued to rotate strike superbly.
The two put all their experience to use and played perfectly to the situation. Kieron Pollard went after the George Linde and Jahandad Khan, while Shoaib Malik played the anchor.
The pair stitched up a 95-run partnership and managed to keep up with the asking rate in the process. Between the 9th and 15th overs, the duo played a total of 3 dot balls, which is proof of the exemplary game awareness these two possess.
Kieron Pollard and Shoaib Malik seemed to have decided to target the third man region. Throughout their partnership, they managed to rotate strike easily with soft dabs towards deep third-man, but not once did Shaheen Afridi make the bold call to bring the third-man fielder in.
Shaheen Afridi seemed clueless, and did not appear to be proactive with his captaincy. Very easy singles were allowed, which is exactly what the Karachi Kings wanted.
(3)Jahandad Khan failing and Ahsan Bhatti bowling the final over
Although the pace trio of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan really stepped up, Jahandad Khan has to be mentioned specifically because of how important he was supposed to be on the day.
Kieron Pollard does not have any significant weaknesses. With the kind of power in the big man’s shoulders, he could take any bowler to the cleaners. However, he has had the tendency to fall prey to left-arm medium pacers.
In T20 Internationals, he averaged a mere 17 against left-arm medium pacers compared to his career average of 25. Across T20 leagues, he has been dismissed by left-arm medium pacers 34 times.
Jahandad Khan was playing second fiddle to Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan in the middle overs, and if Lahore Qalandars were to win, they needed him to either take wickets or bowl an economical spell. Unfortunately for them, neither happened.
Had Jahandad Khan been a little more unpredictable with his slower ones, Kieron Pollard might not have take him to the cleaners as easily as he did.
It would be unfair, though, to blame Jahandad Khan, considering the fact that Kieron Pollard was at his destructive best, and that he, on his day, has absolutely no weaknesses.
Moreover, there seemed to be a miscalculation from Shaheen Afridi, who had to bowl Ahsan Bhatti in the last over. While many believe it was a captaincy error, there could also be a case for it being a tactical decision.
Kieron Pollard and Shoaib Malik are very capable of hitting spinners, and that too with utmost ease. The matchup probably forced Shaheen Afridi to hold Ahsan Bhatti back. However, after both the batters were dismissed with three overs still to spare, Shaheen Afridi could probably have tried to get an over from Ahsan Bhatti.
Defending 11 in the last over was never going to be easy for someone as inexperienced as Ahsan Bhatti.
Sikandar Raza not getting to roll his arm over is also one questionable decision. If not for an injury, he surely would have been a better option to defend 11 off the last over with all the experience that he has.
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