Babar Azam’s stellar century and fiery bowling helped the Stallions secure a 174-run victory against the Dolphins in the seventh game of the Champions One-Day Cup at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, on Wednesday.
Chasing the 272-run target set by the Stallions, the Saud Shakeel-led Dolphins were bundled out for 97. Left-arm pacer Jahandad Khan and spinner Mehran Mumtaz each took three wickets to dismantle the Dolphins’ lineup.
Starting their innings, the Dolphins faced an immediate setback as Muhammad Huraira was dismissed by Jahandad on a duck on the second ball of the innings. Jahandad later dismissed Umar Amin (10) and Saud Shakeel (12), further swinging the game in the Stallions’ favor.
Wickets kept tumbling for the Dolphins. Sarfaraz Ahmed, who is also the mentor of the Dolphins, and Qasim Akram, returned to the dugout after adding five and four runs to the scoreboard, respectively. Sahibzada Farhan, who opened the innings, tried to mount a fightback but was dismissed for 32 off 36 balls with six fours, leaving the Dolphins at 74/6 and in deep trouble.
Asif Ali, known for his power-hitting abilities, managed to score a slow 21 off 28 balls before falling to spinner Abrar Ahmed. The Dolphins were eventually all out for 97 runs in just over 25 overs, marking their third consecutive loss in the tournament.
Earlier, the Stallions won the toss and elected to bat first, scoring 271/7, largely thanks to Babar Azam’s magnificent 104 off 100 balls. Despite early setbacks, Babar’s steady performance kept the scoreboard ticking.
Shan Masood (34 off 36) provided a solid start before being dismissed in the 13th over. Yasir Khan (46 off 58) and Babar Azam then formed a crucial partnership until Yasir’s dismissal. Tayyab Tahir contributed 33 off 49, but the team faced a middle-order wobble with Mohammad Haris scoring only six runs.
Hussain Talat added 23 runs down the order, while tail-enders Jahandad and Mehran could only muster eight and three runs, respectively. Mir Hamza, Faheem Ashraf, Qasim Akram, Sufiyan Muqeem, and Saud Shakeel each took a wicket for the Dolphins, while Abbas Afridi went wicket-less.
Playing XI:
Stallions: Shan Masood, Yasir Khan, Babar Azam, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Haris (wk and captain), Hussain Talat, Jahandad Khan, Mehran Mumtaz, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Ali.
Dolphins: Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Huraira, Umar Amin, Saud Shakeel (captain), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Qasim Akram, Faheem Ashraf, Asif Ali, Abbas Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Mir Hamza.
