Requiring all the luck they can get, Waseem’s Knights won the toss and elected to bat first.

In a do or die situation, the Knights needed to bring their A game for survival, and the promotion of Hadi to the opening position in the absence of Haris sab proved to be a great move. With Rehan not spoiling any openers night today with his first over wickets this time round, Ataul Hadi was brutal in the powerplay alongside the league legend Daud Ahmed. Completely owning the Royal bowlers, Hadi raced to 42 off 20 in the first 5 overs (7×4 and 2×6), finally removed by Naveed in the 6th over with the score at 59-1. The Knights needed their big gun to fire now more than ever, and Daud obliged to the call by producing one of his trademark authoritative knocks of 72 off 47 (10 fours and 2 sixes) at their time of need. With Hadi and Daud doing the bulk of the damage, the remaining knights batsmen all contributed partially enough with good strike rates as if their lives depended on it, and their efforts were rewarded with a strong final total of 179-9 in their 20 overs. An excellent first half for them.

Needing 9 runs from the get go, it was going to become a lot tougher for the Royals with the league’s sole centurion removed early in the first over by left arm ‘danger’ Fareed. Ali Raza and Haris Khan started to pick up on the chase with 20 runs scored in the 3rd and 4th over of the powerplay, but Fareed got his man (Ali Raza) in the 5th over with the score now at 32-2 in 5 overs. With no real momentum building and wickets falling, the Royals were in a hole at 58-5 in 11 overs, requiring 122 runs in the last 9 with not much left in the tank for them.

Whilst Sarfaraz had quietly gone about his business bowling 3 economical overs for 14 runs, a late innings charge began with Rizwan and Atta ul Babar targeting Hadi for 13 runs and then Sarfaraz for 19 in his last over of the spell. The required run rate had been brought down to 13.5 with two set hitters at the crease. Ali Raza from the Knights who had picked up 2-7 in his first two overs was brought back into the attack on an emergency basis by Waseem, and this resulted in the much needed wicket of Babar who had played brilliantly for his 43 off 30 balls. The next ball also saw Rehan Mansoor returning to the pavilion with Ali Raza picking up his 3rd and the score at 105-7 (requiring 75 in the last 5 overs with 3 wickets in hand). With the match very much out of the reach, Ali Raza finished his spell with outstanding figures of 4-17. The Royals could only finish on 128 all out, being defeated by 51 runs.

A much needed victory was obtained for the Knights with the help of Daud Ahmed’s tremendous innings of 72, an effort that was awarded the MOTM. With the league now entering its concluding stages, it is safe to say that the 2 points obtained by the Knights have also confirmed the end of the Warrior’s campaign (who bow out alongside the Stars). The Royals can still aim for a 2nd place finish if they win their last game, but anyone currently on 7 points cannot truly rest on their laurels with highly important fixtures coming up for the Defenders of Peace, Courageous Challengers and Mighty Strikers. Its getting tense in the KCL 2023, exciting times ahead!

Match Summary is as follows;

Man of the match;