Lahore Qalandars 199 for 6 (Fakhar 53, Haseebullah 40, Hassan 2-30) beat Hyderabad Kingsmen 130 (Labuschagne 26, Rauf 2-22, Ubaid 2-27, Raza 2-27) by 69 runs
Lahore Qalandars got their defence of the PSL title off to a flawless start, crushing debutants Hyderabad Kingsmen by 69 runs. In the tournament opener, the Qalandars turned in an all-round performance with both bat and ball. A half-century from Fakhar Zaman and a number of supporting cameos helped propel them to 199, while a meek Kingsmen side were no match during the chase. Five different wicket-takers combined to skittle Marnus Labuschagne's side for 130 as the Qalandars burnished their formidable credentials.
After a pared down opening ceremony - in front of empty stands after the PSL decided against crowd involvement owing to a fuel conservation drive in the wake of the West Asia crisis - Shaheen Afridi opted to bat first. They quickly set about exposing Kingsmen's modest bowling attack as Fakhar and Mohammad Naeem flew out of the blocks. The opening pair put on 84 in 50 balls before left-arm orthodox spinner Hassan Khan finally struck to draw first blood.
The middle overs saw the Kingsmen pull the Qalandars back as run-scoring slowed down over the next seven overs, which saw 47 runs scored and four wickets fall. But Haseebullah Khan and Sikandar Raza course-corrected with a whirlwind death-overs partnership, smashing 45 in 21. Afridi finished off the innings with a stamp of dominance, coming in with two balls to spare, and smashing Mohammad Ali, who would finish with 50 off three overs, to two sixes.
The Qalandars carried that momentum through. Afridi and Ubaid Shah accounted for Usman Khan and Saim Ayub inside the first four overs as the Qalandars threatened to cut the Kingsmen adrift inside the powerplay. They made good on that threat when Raza and Haris Rauf scythed through the middle order, with captain Labuschagne's 26 the highest score of his side's effort.
It wasn't long before Kingsmen switched to making sure they reached three figures, and then put on as many runs as possible to avoid getting hammered on the net run-rate in the early stages of the tournament. But, as if to sum up the feebleness of the performance, they would finish with two run outs as Qalandars sealed a huge win to demonstrate why they have won three of the last four PSL tournaments, and why they may rank among the favourites to make it four in five.
