Rawalakot Hawks cruise to five-wicket win over Bagh Stallions

The Stallions could only manage 156 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted overs

PHOTO COURTESY: KPL

Rawalakot Hawks cruised to a comfortable five-wicket victory against Bagh Stallions during their Kashmir Premier League (KPL) encounter in Muzaffarabad on Wednesday.

Chasing a target of 157 runs, the Hawks’ batsmen made short work of the target, going over the line with five wickets and 10 balls to spare.

Openers Ahmed Shehzad and Bismillah Khan laid a solid foundation for their side at the start of the innings.

Shehzad was the first to fall after scoring 27 runs off 18 balls.

Bismillah fell next after scoring 33 runs off 19 balls.

Batsmen Kashif Ali and Sahibzada Farhan then combined to guide their side close to the finishing line.

Farhan fell during the ending stage of the chase after scoring 28 runs off 23 balls.

The next batsman Samiullah Afridi fell soon after arrival as the match entered an interesting phase.

Kashif scored 54 runs off 40 balls to guide his side out of trouble.

In the end, the Hawks secured a five-wicket victory with 10 balls to spare.

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Earlier, Bagh Stallions’ captain Shan Masood won the toss and elected to bat first.

The Stallions were off to a cautious start against a disciplined Rawalakot Hawks bowling attack.

The bowlers kept taking regular wickets as the Stallions’ batsmen failed to convert their starts into a significant score.

As the pressure mounted and wickets continued to fall, the Stallions needed someone in the lower order to play a quickfire knock to get them out of a troubling situation.

All-rounder Aamer Yamin, however, stepped up for his side in desperate need, smashing a wonderful knock of 69 runs off just 34 balls to ensure that Stallions had a score that could be defended after a fighting bowling performance.

The Stallions could only manage 156 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted overs.

Pacer Zaman Khan used his slingy bowling action to great effect, picking up three wickets while pacer Asif Afridi picked up two wickets.