Mirpur Royals chased down the highest total in Kashmir Premier League (KPL) so far to beat Muzaffarabad Tigers by five wickets at the Muzaffarabad Stadium Friday.
In a run-fest match, Tigers captain Mohammad Hafeez (110) century set up a daunting 228 runs winning target for Royals which was chased down in 20th over following some spectacular display of firepower led by Khushdil Shah’s (56 not out of just 22 deliveries).
For Royals it was a knock out game as the loss here would have meant curtains for them. Yet they came out strong and managed to hang on for a win.
If Royals had lost it, Bagh Stallions would have qualified for the playoffs. Bagh and Kotli are now out of competition.
Tigers Mohammad Hafeez came to the party with some spectacular display of high-quality innings. He smashed five fours and ten sixes during his 55-ball stay at the wicket.
Zeeshan Ashraf could not complete his half century as left-handed batsman got out on 49, consuming 27 balls. Anwar Ali (22) and Mohammad Wasim (19) dealt in boundaries at the back end to help Tigers post 227 on the board, the highest total of KPL 2021. Salman Irshad, Shadab Majeed and Ammad Butt got two wickets each.
Sharjeel Khan (21) and Mukhtar Ahmad (29) got off to a strong start to help Royals set up run scoring tempo. Shoaib Malik (46) and Mohammad Akhlaq (42) then took over and started to accelerate. It was all left to Khushdil to put icing on the cake as he smashed three sixes and eight fours in his breezy knock to take Royals home and into the play offs.
Earlier, Kotli Lions achieved their first win of the KPL beating Overseas Warriors by eight wicket. The win was not enough to take them into qualifying round. Warriors smashed 211 for 6 in 20 overs with Nasir Nawaz (66), Haider Ali (62) and Azam Khan (51) played well. Khurram Shahzad picked up 3 for 39 for Kotli.
Lions in reply reached the target for loss of just two wickets with Kamran Akmal (60) and Ahsan Ali (56 not out) playing well.
Schedule of Play-Offs: 14th August: 3:30 pm. Qualifier: Rawalakot Hawks vs Muzaffarabad Tigers.
15th August: 3:30 pm Eliminator 1: Mirpur Royals vs Overseas Warriors.
16th August: 3:30 pm Eliminator 2: Runner-Up of Qualifier vs Winner of Eliminator 1.
17th August: 7:00 pm The Final: Winner of Qualifier vs Winner of Eliminator 2.
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