Date:01/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/01/stories/2008040156311700.htm

Sport - Cricket

Lahore Badshahs’s run continues

Principal Correspondent

HYDERABAD: It was an inconsequential match as far as Lahore Badshahs staying at the top of the table was concerned.

But, its hunger for victory was evident when it recorded an 11-run win over Ahmedabad Rockets in the Edelweiss 20s Challenge cricket championship at the floodlit Lal Bahadur Stadium here on Sunday night.

Rockets was never in the hunt chasing a target of 152, losing wickets at regular intervals from the start itself. Even a brisk knock by Anshu Jain (43, 43 balls, 4x4) came too late to change the script.

Fast bowler Naved-ul-Hasan Rana (4-0-28-0) was the ‘Man-of-the-Match’.

Leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed and pacer Mohammad Sami picked up two wickets apiece to sustain the pressure in the middle-overs.

In the first session, it looked as if Rockets was fired up to salvage some prestige as it had the opponent tottering at 132 for seven at the start of 20th over.

But, Naved Rana struck two massive sixes over covers and then flicked past square-leg in the final over off Heath Streak to prop up Badshahs to a competitive 151 for nine in 20 overs.

The fireworks from the big guns including captain Inzamam-ul-Haq (8) were missing to the disappointment of the big crowd despite opener Imran Nazir (28, 25 balls, 2x4, 2x6) and southpaw Taufeeq Umar (29, 31 balls, 5x4) batting with authority.

For Rockets, left-arm spinners Sumit Kalia (4-0-20-4) and Sridharan Sriram (4-0-19-2) bowled with guile and accuracy in the middle-overs. The dismissal of Inzamam by Kalia was a beauty for he was beaten all ends up as he charged down the pitch to play an off-drive only to be stranded. Then, Hasan Raza’s aggressive knock (44, 32 balls, 4x4, 2x6) down the order ensured a decent total.

The scores: Lahore Badshahs 151 for nine in 20 overs (Hasan Raza 44, Heath Streak three for 45, Sumit Kalia four for 20, Sridharan Sriram two for 19) bt Ahmedabad Rockets 140 for six in 20 overs (Anshu Jain 43, Mohammad Sami two for 25, Mushtaq Ahmed two for 30).