All-rounders Kevon Cooper and Cameron Delport took three wickets each to help Lahore Qalandars beat a strong Peshawar Zalmi side in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Saturday.
Peshawar Zalmi, at some instances, showed signs of coming back in the game as they pursued a target of 165 runs, but failed to do so as the Lahore bowlers kept the run flow tight and took wickets at the right time.
The left-hander lost his fellow opener Mohammad Hafeez in the fourth over but contributed 30 off 22 balls before losing his wicket in the seventh over.
Earlier, Cameron Delport smashed 78 off 61 balls for Lahore Qalandars.
The South African southpaw in a 3rd wicket partnership with Umar Akmal plundered 101 runs at the rate of 9.46 runs per over against a strong Zalmi bowling attack.
Delport hit three sixes and six fours, while Akmal in his 31-ball-52 smashed six boundaries.
Chris Gayle continued his poor run of form for Lahore Qalandars as the flamboyant opener was dismissed for a duck.
Azhar Ali, the Lahore captain tried to provide stability after a poor start along with Delport but he also failed to make a meaningful contribution before falling out to Darren Sammy after scoring 25 off 26 balls.
Zalmi will be hoping to reclaim the top spot after winning the toss and bowling first against the embattled Lahore Qalandars side at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Dawid Malan comes back for Zalmi in place of James Allenby while captain Azhar Ali and Adnan Rasool return for the Qalandars.
Lahore, placed at the bottom of the PSL points table with just one victory in five games, face a mountainous task to claim a play-off spot and their task will not be made easier by the dominant Zalmi side.
Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo are yet to fire for Lahore and if they can combine with Umar Akmal for some heavy hits, Zalmi may face a big total.
Lahore Qalandars
Azhar Ali (capt.), Chris Gayle, Cameron Delport, DJ Bravo, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Umar Akmal, Zohaib Khan, Zafar Gohar, KK Cooper, Ehsan Adil, Adnan Rasool
Peshawar Zalmi
Shahid Afridi (capt.), Mohammad Hafeez, Tamim Iqbal, Dawid Malan, Kamran Akmal (wicketkeeper), Shahid Yousuf, Darren Sammy, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Asghar, Shaun Tait
