Van Der Dussen's Hundred in Vain, Qalandars Remain Winless

Muhammad Waqas

The defending champions faced fifth straight loss as they fell just short of the target despite Van Der Dussen’s heroics.  

Rassie Van Der Dussen score an unbeaten 104 off 52

Facing a big target of 212, Lahore Qalandars’ quest for victory encountered early setbacks as Neveen ul haq and Luke wood struck. Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman’s departures dealt a severe blow to Lahore, leaving them reeling under pressure. However, Rassie Van Der Dussen emerged a beacon of hope for the Qalandars with his brilliant unbeaten century (104* off 52).

Shai Hope and Dussen’s partnership saved wickets, but Lahore Qalandars found themselves grappling with the mounting pressure of required run rate. When Hope departed, after scoring 29 off 23 balls, Qalandars required 103 runs off 45 deliveries. Ahsan Hafeez came to bat, but failed to play big shots and was removed after scoring 20 off 13, when Saim Ayub took an incredible catch at deep square leg.

Janadad Khan scored 13 runs in 9 balls, and Carlos Braithwaite’s last ball six was too late as Qalandars finished with a total of 203/6. Van Der Dussen saw his effort going in vain as Peshawar zalmi won by 8 runs.

Earlier, putting into bat first, Peshawar Zalmi embraced a relentless attack against the Lahore bowlers. Saim Ayub’s blistering 88 off 55 balls and Babar Azam’s 48 runs in 36 balls set the stage for Zalmi. After that Rovman Powell continued the onslaught by hitting 46 off just 20 balls, ably supported by Asif Ali and Mohammad Haris. Peshawar Zalmi ended their innings at 211/4.