Stallions win big as Babar finds form with the bat in their Champions Cup game against the Lions in the second game of the tournament.
Stallions open their account with a convincing win as they swat aside the Lions with a comprehensive 133-run win in Faislabad.
This was the second straight one-sided win after Markhors beat the Panthers by 160 runs in the opening game.
Babar Azam found some form with the bat, scoring a fluent 76. Babar’s knock was one of four half-centuries which took them to an imposing 337/6 in their 50 overs.
Stallions began on a sedate note with a 39-run stand between Babar and Shan Masood. While Masood was bowled by Faisal Akram, Babar continued to get runs in the company of Tayyab Tahir. Tahir was the aggressor, scoring his 74 runs in just 72 deliveries.
The contrasting nature of both batters was the perfect stage to explode for the Stallions. Mohammad Haris and Hussain Talat did just that, plundering 118 runs in the last 10 overs as both reached their respective fifties.
The Lions never really got into the groove with the bat. Barring Imam-ul-Haq, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals as the scoreboard pressure kept increasing.
Despite running out of partners, Imam continued to play his shots. His 78 was the only score of note in an otherwise sorry-looking batting card for the Lions. Shaheen threw his bat around a bit before Rauf had him dismissed towards the end of the innings. The Lions folded at 203, with no one other than Imam going past 30.
As far as the Stallions go, their bowling was also a team effort. Six bowlers chipped in with wickets. Haris Rauf led with 3/18 and found support from Mohammad Ali, who got 2 wickets for 18 runs.