Lahore Qalandars dominate PCB XI in T10 exhibition match

NAROWAL: Fakhar Zaman led the charge with an unbeaten 68 in 23 balls as Lahore Qalandar beat PCB XI in an exhibition match at the newly built Narowal Cricket Ground on Sunday.

Dealing in fours and sixes, star opener Fakhar Zaman and his partner Tair Baig lit up the soft launch of the Narowal Sports City – a multi-billion rupees project comprising 14 stadiums of different sports.

Set to chase 120 runs in 10 overs, Qalandars wrapped up the Youm-e-Takbeer exhibition game with 10 wickets in hand and 14 balls to spare.

While Fakhar lived up to the cheering crowd’s expectations, Tahir also showed intent and scored 51 runs from 23 balls.

Earlier, Asif Ali stole the show during PCB XI’s batting as he smashed Lahore Qalandar’s captain and speedster Haris Rauf for four consecutive maximums in an over and remained unbeaten on 62 runs off 26 balls.

With the help of Asif’s exploits, Kamran Akmal-led PCB XI reached 119/5 after they elected to bat first.

Pakistan internationals including Abid Ali, Khushdil Shah, Usman Qadir and Sajid Khan were part of the PCB XI along with top domestic performers like Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ilyas and Mohammad Akhlaq.

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Haris Rauf to captain Lahore Qalandars in exhibition game against PCB XI

LAHORE: Haris Rauf will lead his Pakistan Super League franchise Lahore Qalandar in an exhibition game against Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) XI at the newly built Narowal Sports Complex on May 28. 

The 10-over-per-side exhibition match will serve as the soft opening of the multi-billion rupees sports facility in Narowal.

Two-time PSL champions, Qalandars, announced the 15-member squad for the exhibition match under the leadership of their premium fast bowler Rauf on Friday.

Meanwhile, regular captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, who is currently playing for Nottinghamshire in the ongoing Vitaly Blast 2023, will not be part of Lahore Qalandars at the event.

The exhibition game between the two sides is organized to mark the occasion of Youm-e-Takbeer – commemorating the 25th anniversary of historic nuclear tests Pakistan conducted on May 28 in 1998.

Pakistan star opener Fakhar Zaman, and emerging players from the PSL season 8, including Tahir Baig and Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti, will also feature in the match.

Meanwhile, Kamran Akmal, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Akhlaq, Abbas Afridi, Abid Ali, Asif Ali, Sajid Khan, Ali Imran and Usman Qadir will be part of the PCB XI, along with top domestic performers and U19 players.

The match will begin at 2:30 PM (PST) on Sunday (May 28).

Lahore Qalandars Squad:

Haris Rauf (C), Fakhar Zaman, Tahir Baig, Faham ul Haq, Muhammad Naeem, Haydar Khan (Overseas), Ahsan Bhatti, Salman Fayyaz, Taha Mehmood, Hunain Shah, Tayyab Abbas, Jallat Khan, Haroon Tahir, Sheryar Imran and Muhammad Shoaib

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