Qalandars edge Hawks in a low-scoring thriller

The fourth match of the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League (GSL) took pace under blue skies and bright sunshine in Providence, Guyana, as the Lahore Qalandars took on the Hampshire Hawks and ran out eventual winners by four runs on Saturday.

The fourth match of the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League (GSL) took place under blue skies and bright sunshine in Providence, Guyana, on Saturday, with the Lahore Qalandars emerging as the eventual victors over the Hampshire Hawks by a narrow margin of four runs.

At the toss, Carlos Brathwaite opted to bat first for the Qalandars, a decision that saw his team come under immediate pressure from the English outfit.

In the second over, Mirza Baig was dismissed by the wily left-arm spin of Danny Briggs, while his opening partner, Adam Rossington, remained at the crease to provide some stability.

However, the Qalandars struggled to break the shackles imposed by Hampshire's tight bowling, and when Rossington departed for 30 off 29 deliveries, the Pakistani side found themselves floundering at 37-3 after eight overs.

This pattern continued throughout their innings, with Hampshire's bowlers maintaining tight lines and denying the Qalandars easy opportunities to score runs or find the boundary with any regularity.

Crucial lower-order hitting from Player-of-the-Match Luke Wells (35* off 24) and Muhammad Akhlaq (23* off 12) ultimately proved to be the saving grace for the Qalandars. Akhlaq smashed three towering sixes off James Fuller's second over with some lusty blows down the ground and over midwicket.

In response, Hampshire encountered difficulties with the bat, mustering only 50 runs in the first 10 overs, which left them with a demanding run rate to achieve for the remainder of the game.

Asif Afridi's left-arm spin stifled the scoring, yielding just 16 runs in his set of four overs, and the Hawks strung together a series of dot balls, watching their required run rate climb into double figures.

With three overs remaining, the Hawks needed 36 runs from 18 deliveries.

Ashraf pulled off a spectacular diving catch low to the turf to dismiss the dangerous Howell, and then Liam Dawson made the cardinal error of not grounding his bat when attempting a quick single a couple of balls later, allowing Carlos Brathwaite and Shamsi to combine and run him out at the non-striker's end.

Chris Wood struck the final ball of the penultimate over from Ashraf's spell over wide long-on for six, leaving the Hawks to chase 21 runs in the final over.

Captain Brathwaite took it upon himself to bowl the last over for the Qalanders, and his opposite number, Wood, was then run out in a fashion similar to Dawson.

However, there was a late sting in the tale, with James Fuller hitting two consecutive sixes off Brathwaite to leave the Hawks needing a third in a row to snatch the victory at the last moment.

But Brathwaite held his nerve, delivering a perfect yorker to secure the win for the Qalanders. Both teams now have one win and one loss each as the GSL table heats up. (GSL)