Qalandars make short work of Kingsmen in PSL opener

Lahore Qalandars kicked off their title defence with a convincing 69-run win over Hyderabad Kingsmen at the Gaddafi Stadium. Chasing a target of 200, Kingsmen, playing their maiden game, were bowled out for 130 in the opening match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

The near 200-run total by Qalandars was set up by an aggressive start from Mohammad Naeem and Fakhar Zaman, who added 84 for the first wicket. They scored 64 runs in the Powerplay, putting the bowlers under pressure early. Fakhar went on to make 53 off 29 and also became only the second batter to reach 3000 runs in the PSL.

After a brief wobble, when Qalandars lost three wickets for 10 runs, Haseebullah anchored the innings with an unbeaten 40 off 28, while Sikandar Raza's quick 24 off 10 and two late sixes from Shaheen Afridi lifted Lahore to 199 for 6.

Kingsmen began their chase steadily but lost both openers inside the first four overs. From there, wickets fell at regular intervals and they never really recovered. Sikandar and Mustafizur Rahman struck in the middle overs to leave them struggling at 65 for 5, when captain Mustafizur Rahman was caught and bowled for a 22-ball 26. That remained the highest individual score in the innings.

There was little resistance after that as Haris Rauf, Ubaid Shah and Sikandar picked up two wickets each. Despite a small unbeaten contribution from Riley Meredith (19* off 26), Kingsmen fell well short, handing Lahore a dominant start to their campaign.

The match also saw an unusual moment, with the ball changing colour from white to pink during the Kingsmen innings, reportedly due to colour from the red jerseys rubbing onto it. The issue was flagged to the umpires.

"I did say to the umpires after the second over, 'What's going on? The ball is red.' It must be from the clothes or something like that. I haven't seen anything like this before," Labuschagne said after the match.

"I've seen occasions where something on a bat comes onto the ball, or when it hits the pad and takes a bit of paint off. But I've never seen this happen with clothing. I'm sure they'll sort it out in the next few games," he added.

Brief scores: Lahore Qalandars 199/6 (Fakhar 53, Haseebullah 40*; Hassan Khan 2-30) beat Hyderabad Kingsmen 130 all out (Labuschagne 26; Haris Rauf 2-22) by 69 runs.