Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf face scrutiny over defeat against Kings

Lahore Qalandars skipper Shaheen Afridi and pacer Haris Rauf received backlash for failing to defend 168 against Karachi Kings in their PSL 10 game.

After being put to bat first in the 24th match of the PSL 10, the Qalandars posted 160 on the scoreboard in 15 overs in a rain-reduced game.

Karachi Kings, who needed 168 in 15 overs as per the DLS method, won the game in the final over as Irfan Niazi smashed an unbeaten 48 off 21 balls.

At one point in the game, Kings needed 48 off 18 balls when Shaheen Afridi came to the attack.

However, the Lahore Qalandars pacer conceded 21 runs in the 13th over, bringing the equation to 27 needed off 12 balls.

Haris Rauf then came to bowl the penultimate over and gave away 20 runs as Karachi Kings needed seven of the last over.

Irfan Niazi finished things in style as he hit the third ball of the final for a six after Hasan Ali took a single to give the strike back to him.

Following the game, former Pakistan pacer Tanveer Ahmed lashed out at the two senior bowlers for losing the PSL 10 game from a winning position.

“The 168-run target was not bad at all. How did Karachi Kings win the match? They won because of two bowlers. I cannot comprehend the fact that they are Pakistan’s top-class fast bowlers,” he said.

Tanveer Ahmed added, “Karachi were 120 in 12 overs. Then, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf came and conceded three sixes each in their overs. And we say that Pakistan’s bowling lineup is incomplete without them.”