Champions One-Day Cup: Zahid Mehmood bamboozles Stallions to lead Markhors to victory

On September 15, 2024, the Markhors celebrated their second win in the Champions One-Day Cup by defeating the Stallions with a standout bowling performance at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.

Salman Ali Agha and Zahid Mehmood were the heroes of the match. Zahid took 5 wickets for 18 runs, and Salman took 3 wickets for 21 runs. Their combined efforts led to the Stallions being bowled out for just 105 runs while chasing a target of 232 set by the Markhors.

Apart from Babar Azam, no other Stallions batsman could handle the Markhors’ bowlers. Babar and Shan Masood were the only ones to score in double figures. Babar made 45 runs off 44 balls, and Shan added 19 runs. The Stallions were all out in 24 overs, falling 126 runs short of the Markhors’ total.

Earlier, Salman and Iftikhar Ahmed scored half-centuries, helping the Markhors set a target of 231 runs. Iftikhar scored 60 off 66 balls, and Salman made 51 off 72 balls. Abdul Samad also contributed 37 runs. The Markhors were bowled out in 45 overs, so they didn’t use all their allotted 50 overs.

For the Stallions, Jahandad Khan took 4 wickets for 44 runs, and Mehran Mumtaz took 3 wickets for 56 runs.

The Markhors’ innings faced some challenges. Mohammad Faizan was out for just 2 runs, caught behind by Mohammad Haris off Mohammad Ali. Fakhar Zaman scored 20 runs off 24 balls before being caught by Mohammad Ali off Jahandad Khan’s bowling. Kamran Ghulam made 11 runs off 13 balls before being dismissed by Abrar Ahmed. Captain Mohammad Rizwan contributed 33 runs off 39 balls but was caught by Abrar Ahmed off Mehran’s bowling.

Salman anchored the middle order with a steady 51 runs, partnering with Iftikhar, who top-scored with 60 runs. Their partnership gave the innings some momentum until Iftikhar was out to Mehran. Samad scored 37 runs off 35 balls before being caught by Babar off Mehran’s bowling.

The lower order struggled, with Zahid run out without scoring and Naseem Shah out for a duck, caught by Hussain Talat off Jahandad. Akif Javed scored 5 runs, but Shahnawaz Dahani was bowled for 4 by Jahandad.

In the end, Jahandad took 4 wickets, and Mehran took 3, dismantling the Markhors’ batting lineup effectively.

Playing XIs:

• Markhors: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Faizan, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Rizwan (c) (wk), Salman Agha, Abdul Samad, Zahid Mahmood, Naseem Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shahnawaz Dahani
• Stallions: Shan Masood, Yasir Khan, Babar Azam, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Haris (c) (wk), Hussain Talat, Jahandad Khan, Mehran Mumtaz, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Ali