Zahid Mahmood Shines with Five-Wicket Haul as Markhors Overpower Stallions
Zahid Mahmood delivered a stunning performance, claiming five wickets to lead the Markhors to a 126-run victory over the Stallions in their Champions One-day Cup clash at Iqbal Stadium on Sunday.
The leg-spinner’s impressive figures of 5-18 were instrumental in dismantling the Stallions’ batting lineup, which collapsed dramatically to lose eight wickets for just 26 runs in 54 balls, while chasing a target of 232 runs.
Salman Ali Agha also played a key role with his off-spin, securing three wickets for 21 runs, as spin dominated the match. The Stallions were well-placed at 79-2, needing 153 runs from 211 balls, before Zahid’s exceptional spell turned the game in favor of the Markhors.
Pacer Naseem Shah contributed with the early breakthroughs, dismissing Yasir Khan and Shan Masood, leaving the Stallions at 52-2. Babar Azam, the only Stallions batsman to reach double figures besides Shan, scored 45 off 44 balls but fell to Zahid in the 16th over.
Earlier, Jahandad Khan’s career-best List-A figures of 4-49 and Mehran Mumtaz’s 3-56 restricted the Markhors to 231 runs, with 30 balls to spare. Despite a rocky start at 38-3, half-centuries from Salman (51 off 72) and Iftikhar Ahmed (60 off 66) stabilized the innings. Abdul Samad’s quick 37 off 35 further pushed the total past 200.
In other matches, Usman Khan’s century and Mohammad Hasnain’s five-wicket haul propelled the Panthers to a 50-run win over the Dolphins. Usman Khan’s 111 off 110 guided the Panthers to 328, while Hasnain’s 5-74 helped dismiss the Dolphins for 278 despite notable efforts from Qasim Akram and Sahibzada Farhan.
Scores in Brief:
- Markhors beat Stallions by 126 runs
- Markhors: 231 in 45 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 60, Salman Ali Agha 51, Abdul Samad 37, Mohammad Rizwan 33; Jahandad Khan 4-49, Mehran Mumtaz 3-56)
- Stallions: 105 in 23.4 overs (Babar Azam 45, Shan Masood 19; Zahid Mehmood 5-18, Salman Ali Agha 3-21, Naseem Shah 2-24)
- Panthers beat Dolphins by 50 runs
- Panthers: 328 in 49.4 overs (Usman Khan 111, Shadab Khan 65, Haider Ali 63, Umar Siddiq 30; Usman Qadir 3-63, Mir Hamza 2-50, Mohammad Abbas Afridi 2-68)
- Dolphins: 278 in 47 overs (Qasim Akram 65, Sahibzada Farhan 52, Faheem Ashraf 41, Mohammad Huraira 39, Saud Shakeel 24; Mohammad Hasnain 5-74, Usama Mir 2-48, Mubasir Khan 2-58)
