Dubai: The third edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) seems to be never short on excitement as on Sunday night, the winner was decided through a super over for the second time this season.
The drama that happened on and off the field will remain etched in the minds of those who watched the match that ended at 12.45am with the fortunes smiling on Lahore Qalandars at the Dubai International Stadium.
Needing 16 runs off the last over, Sohail Akhtar ran for two runs, hit a boundary and a six and reached a stage where three runs were needed off the last ball from pacer Usman Khan Shinwari to win the match. Akhtar hit the ball high and the ball looked like travelling for a six but to the shock of the Lahore fans, Ravi Bopara at long on boundary caught him.
Karachi fans erupted in joy and even the team owners and coaching staff almost entered the field to celebrate when Shinwari’s delivery was declared a no-ball. This was followed by umpires having a tough time trying to find how many runs were needed off the next ball as many, including Lahore captain Brendon McCullum, felt that only one run is needed off the last ball which will now be a free hit. It was, however, found that Akhtar was caught before the run was completed and so Lahore needed two runs off the last delivery.
A sizzling yorker from Shinwari enabled batsman Gulraiz Sadaf get only one run and he got run out while attempting the second run. The match ending in a tie resulting in a super over commencing past mid-night.
With bated breath and the giant screen flashing the message “start biting your nails,’ the entire crowd stood up to witness the super over. Karachi’s best bet Mohammad Amir bowled the super over and Lahore scored 11 runs off it. Though the target for Karachi to win was 12, they would have won by scoring 11 as they had hit more boundaries than Lahore.
McCullum picked off-spinner Sunil Narine, who in July 2014 had become the first bowler in T20 cricket history to bowl a maiden in a super over when he bowled Guyana Amazon Warriors to victory over Red Steel in the Caribbean Premier League, to bowl the super over. Narine bowled brilliantly and off the last ball, Karachi still needed 10 runs. Though Shahid Afridi hit a six, he could not reach the target. Lahore celebrated the win only after checking whether Narine’s delivery wasn’t a no-ball.
The excitement level was so high that even though the match finished only at 12.30am, the majority of the fans refused to leave the ground and almost everyone were discussing the ifs and buts. Many admitted that Twenty20 excitement was at its best.
When Narine, hero of the match, was mobbed for his comments on how he held his nerve and bowled the last over, he said: “I wanted to keep things simple. What’s important are the first two balls. Being able to bowl a few dots was the key. The wicket was important too. It didn’t help and I was bowling to Lendl Simmons, he knows my game. No matter what a spinner bowls, batsmen can get under it, so I tried to bowl flat. Brendon (McCullum) asked me whether I wanted to bowl, so I told him I’d try my best.”
Lahore will not be in the eliminator but by figuring in two super overs (first super over they lost to Islamabad at the Sharjah Stadium on March 2), they have entertained the crowd thoroughly. Karachi players left the stadium past 1.15am regretting losing their chance to dislodge table-toppers Quetta Gladiators and forced to remain in third slot with nine points.
