The Pakistan Super League started with a bang as Lahore Qalandars defeated Multan Sultans in a nail-biting thriller. The match was full of entertainment, but one particular over bowled by Shahnawaz Dahani to Sikandar Raza caught everyone’s attention.
Dahani, who was bowling his third over and the 17th of the innings, missed a crucial wicket-taking opportunity and then got hammered by Raza for 17 runs. The incident occurred when Lahore had taken their score to 130/4 after 16 overs, and Dahani had the chance to give his team a fifth wicket. However, things went downhill for Dahani as Raza tapped the first ball of the over down the pitch, and his partner, Hussain Talat, charged down the wicket. Talat was halfway down when he realized that Raza hadn’t moved, and turned back.
Dahani had ample time to collect the ball and inflict a run-out, but he made a total mess of it. He picked the ball and decided to throw it from a few yards, but missed the stumps. There was enough time for Dahani to run towards the stumps and dislodge them, but instead, he chose to throw the ball and paid the price. The on-air commentators were amused by the incident, with one of them saying, “They are both at one end. He could have just run. WHY? WHY? God,” while the other one said, “Oh, it’s bad, it’s really bad,” followed by a burst of laughter caught on the mic.
Here’s the run-out miss:
After the missed run-out chance, Raza took the attack to Dahani, hitting him for a six and a four. The Lahore Qalandars’ bowlers, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf, then soaked in the pressure brilliantly to win the contest by one run. Fakhar Zaman was named the Player of the Match for his half-century.
“The pitch wasn’t like we initially expected. We thought it would come on nicely, but it was helping pacers a bit. We left a few runs out there, but with our bowling 175 is good,” Zaman said. On the other hand, the losing captain, Mohammad Rizwan, rued the missed opportunity and said, “The way we were going, it looked like we would get there easily. But their bowling did exactly what it’s known for. It’s cricket; it happens. They had two top bowlers in their side, they open the bowling for Pakistan, and credit to them for delivering at a crucial time.”
In the end, the missed run-out opportunity proved to be crucial as Multan Sultans fell just one run short of the target. It was an exhilarating start to the Pakistan Super League, and fans can expect more exciting games as the tournament progresses.
