Sport - Sports : General

Badshahs in final

AHMEDABAD: Inzamam-ul-Haq re-discovered his batting skills to fashion Lahore Badshahs’ emphatic entry into the final with a six-wicket win over Chennai Superstars in the ICL Twenty20 cricket championship at the Sardar Patel Stadium (Navrangpura) here on Monday night.

Opener Imran Farhat (45, 24 balls, 5x4, 3x6) set the tempo chasing 166 in 20 overs with some lusty hitting, including two sixes over third-man off fast bowler Nantie Hayward.

The stage was then set for the experienced duo of Mohammad Yousuf (28 not out, 37 balls, 2x4) and Inzamam (62, 33 balls, 8x4, 2x6) to bring in all their experience and class during their 87-run stand for the second wicket.

Earlier, Chennai Superstars’s batting line-up did not really fire, despite being 100 for three off 11 overs at one stage. It eventually finished at 165 for seven in 20 overs.

Though opener Ian Harvey (29, 21 balls, 5 x 4) looked ominous, he did not last too long. So was the case with southpaw Hemang Badani (37, 29 balls, 2x4, 1x6) and R. Sathish (37, 28 balls, 4x1). None of the others were equal to the occasion.

On Tuesday, Hyderabad Heroes meets Royal Bengal Tigers in the second semifinal.

The scores: semifinal: Chennai Superstars 165 for seven in 20 overs(Hemang Badani 37, R. Sathish 37, Naved-ul-Hasan Rana three for 30, Saqlain Mushtaq two for 26) lost to Lahore Badshahs 168 for four in 18.5 overs (Imran Farhat 45, Inzamam-ul-Haq 62).

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu