Stallions Crush Dolphins by 174 Runs

Babar Azam's unbeaten 104 off 100 balls and Jahandad Khan's devastating spell with the new ball led the Stallions to a commanding 174-run victory over the Dolphins in Faisalabad. This marked the Dolphins’ third straight loss, while continuing the trend of teams batting first winning all seven matches of the tournament.

After choosing to bat, Stallions got off to a solid start with Shan Masood and Yasir Khan putting up a 76-run opening stand in 13 overs. Faheem Ashraf ended the partnership by dismissing Masood, slowing down the run rate. Yasir soon followed, but Babar took control, anchoring the innings. He built a crucial 57-run stand with Tayyab Tahir, bringing the total to 150 by the 30th over.

The Dolphins rotated through six bowlers, each grabbing a wicket, but none could remove Babar. He reached 50 off 65 balls by the end of the 40th over, before accelerating in the final ten, smashing 54 off just 35 deliveries, including three fours and three sixes. His brilliant knock carried the Stallions to 271 for 7.

Dolphins, hoping to finally secure a win, saw their chase crumble almost immediately as Jahandad struck with his second ball, dismissing Muhammad Hurraira for a duck. In his third over, he trapped Umar Amin lbw, leaving the Dolphins reeling at 15 for 2.

Sahibzada Farhan and Saud Shakeel briefly showed fight with five boundaries in 20 balls, but Jahandad soon returned to bowl Shakeel. Haris Rauf then compounded Dolphins' misery by removing Sarfaraz Ahmed and Qasim Akram in quick succession, reducing them to 60 for 5.

The Dolphins' lower order offered little resistance as Abrar Ahmed and Mehran Mumtaz spun through the tail, sharing five wickets between them. The Dolphins folded for just 97, sealing a massive defeat.

Brief Scores:  

Stallions 271 for 7 (Babar Azam 104, Yasir Khan 46, Saud Shakeel 1-14) beat Dolphins 97 (Sahibzada Farhan 32, Mehran Mumtaz 3-14, Jahandad Khan 3-18) by 174 runs.