Chandigarh Lions roared their way to an impressive six-wicket win over Hyderabad Heroes to register their second victory in the ICL Twenty20 Tournament in Panchkula on Wednesday. The fabulous victory was scripted by Pakistan import Imran Farhat, who hammered an unbeaten 48-ball 74 to make a mockery of the 135-run target set by Hyderabad Heroes.
The left-hander came out firing on all cylinders, thrashing his compatriots Abdul Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood to all corners of the park. Although Razzaq removed Hamish Marshall in the very first over, Farhat, who was then joined by TP Singh, just didn't slow down and unleashed the most destructive innings of the tournament so far. He struck fours and sixes at will, leaving the Hyderabad players clueless and the spectators delirious with joy.
In between, Chandigarh Lions lost three wickets in TP Singh, Manish Sharma and skipper Chris Cairns, but that didn't alter the course of the game, as Farhat continued in the same fashion. In all, he hit seven boundaries and five sixes that helped Lions cruise home with almost four overs to spare.
Earlier, the Hyderabad Heroes just couldn't get the required acceleration at any stage of their innings. Although Anirudh Singh and Ambati Rayudu put on 48 runs for the second wicket, it wasn't enough.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, the Hyderabad Heroes just couldn't get the required acceleration at any stage of their innings. Although Anirudh Singh and Ambati Rayudu put on 48 runs for the second wicket, it wasn't enough.
{{/usCountry}}Later, Dinesh Mongia pushed them deeper into the hole when he claimed Rayudu and skipper Inzamam-ul Haq in quick succession. The following batsmen just couldn't get the momentum going. Had it not been for a few hits by Azhar Mahmood towards the end, the Heroes would have struggled to put up even 135 on the board.
Brief scores
Hyderabad Heroes: 134 (Anirudh Singh 39, A Rayudu 22, C Harris 18, N Boje 16, A Mahmood run out (Uniyal) 18)
Chandigarh Lions: 137 for 4 (I Farhat 74*, TP Singh 19, Manish Sharma 15).