RAWALPINDI: Debutant Afaq Afridi registered the first hat-trick of the Champions T20 Cup and powered Lions to a commanding seven-wicket victory over bottom-placed Dolphins in the 18th match of the tournament here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday.
The right-arm pacer achieved the milestone in the 10th over of the Dolphins’ innings by dismissing Faheem Ashraf (three), Mohammad Abbas Afridi and Shayan Sheikh on successive deliveries.
Afaq Afridi, who had also removed both Dolphins’ openers Sahibzada Farhan and Waqar Ahmed, returned with brilliant bowling figures of 5/18 in his four overs and thus was adjudged the player of the match.
He was supported by fellow pacer Musa Khan, who bagged four wickets for just 14 runs in his four overs, while Khushdil Shah chipped in with a strike.
For the Dolphins, opener Waqar remained with his run-a-ball 16, while Awais Ali (15) and Mohammad Rameez Jr were the other batters to amass double figures.
In response, the Lions comfortably chased down the modest 72-run target for the loss of just three wickets and 66 balls to spare.
The Imam-ul-Haq-led side, however, had a shaky start to their innings as the side lost two wickets inside the first over with just two runs on the board.
Following the early blow, Mohammad Taha joined hands with Omair Bin Yousuf and put their side in touching distance with a 66-run partnership.
Omair fell victim to Abbas after top-scoring with a 30-ball 34 on the penultimate delivery of the ninth over.
Coming out to bat at number five, Khushdil straightaway smashed Abbas for a boundary to seal a seven-wicket victory for his side.
Middle-order batter Mohammad Taha remained unbeaten with a 19-ball 28, laced with four boundaries.
For the Dolphins, Faheem bagged two wickets, while Abbas picked one.
The seven-wicket victory propelled the Lions to the top of the Champions T20 Cup standings with 10 points in eight matches, while the winless Dolphins remained at the bottom.