KPL2021: Rawalakot Hawks beat Mirpur Royals by 43 runs

Chasing a target of 195 for victory, Royals could only score 151 runs for the loss of eight wickets.

MUZAFFARABAD (Dunya News) – Rawalakot Hawks defeated Mirpur Royals by 43 runs in the 1st match of Kashmir Premier League’s (KPL) first edition at Muzzafarabad Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Chasing a target of 195 for victory, Mirpur Royals were able to score 151 runs for the loss of eight wickets. Shoaib Malik batted well for the Mirpur Royals, scoring 74 runs off 50 balla and was ably supported by Amad Butt who scored 22 runs after facing 15 balls.

Zaman Khan, Shahid Afridi and Asif Afridi bowled well for the Rawalakot Hawks and claimed two wickets each.

Earlier, Mirpur Royals skipper Shoaib Malik won the toss and asked Rawalakot Hawks to bat first. His decision proved wrong as Rawalakot Hawks posted 194 runs for the loss of six wickets in their 20 overs.

Ahmed Shahzad batted well for the Rawalakot Hawks and scored 69 runs after facing 42 balls and was ably supported by Bismillah Khan who scored 59 off 34 balls.

Amad Butt bowled well for the Mirpur Royals and claimed three wickets by giving away just 20 runs in his quota of four overs. Salman (2-35) and Khushdil (1-16) were other successful bowlers.

Kashmir Premier League is a T20 format tournament that currently comprises 6 teams out of which one is from the Indian-occupied Kashmir in a traditional league format.

The teams, Rawalakot Hawks, Kotli Lions, Mirpur Royals, Muzaffarabad Tigers, Overseas Warriors, and Bagh Stallions, will play in a double round-robin format with each team facing the other twice.

The top four teams on the points table will make it to the KPL Cup Final.

Squads

Mirpur Royals: Owais Shah (c & wk) (Batsman), Shoaib Malik (Batsman), Sharjeel Khan (Batsman), Khushdil Shah (All Rounder), Muhammad Irfan (Bowler), Salman Irshad (Bowler), Amad Butt (All Rounder), Mukhtar Ahmed (Batsman), Abrar Ahmed (Bowler), Mohammad Akhlaq (Batsman), Shadab Majeed (Bowler), Mohammad Taha (All Rounder), Ammad Alam (Batsman), Danyal Allah Diita, Ibtesam ul Haq

Rawalakot Hawks: Matt Prior (c & wk) (Batsman), Ahmed Shehzad (Batsman), Bismillah Khan (Batsman), Danish Aziz (Batsman), Faisal Altaf, Hussain Talat (Batsman), Mohammad Hasnain (Bowler), Mohammad Imran Randhawa (Bowler), Samiullah Afridi, Shahid Afridi (All Rounder), Shahid Ilyas, Waqas Maqsood (Bowler), Zafar Gohar (Bowler), Zaman Khan, Kashif Ali (All Rounder)