Desperate for a win, the Warriors and Royals both would have liked to have got off to a good start. It was the Royals on this occasion who lead the charge with the ball, as seamer Rehan Mansoor tore through the Warriors top order with a sublime opening spell alongside his new ball partner Rizwan Baloch. Being picked up in the mid season draft by the Royals, Rehan was simply too good for the Warriors by knocking wickets in the 2nd ball of the game, on the first ball of his 2nd over and 2 wickets in his 3rd over within the powerplay, with a spell of 4-11 with an economy of 2.75. A wicket for Rizwan as well meant that the Warriors were 14-5 in the 5th over of the game! Hanging on to a thread bare, captain Hammad Butt must have been regretting his decision to bat first whilst watching his top 5 batsmen all head to the pavilion with scores that hardly troubled the scorers.

With Royals firmly on top at this point, Hammad realised that the best outcome now for the Warriors would be to somehow play out the overs and take whatever score they can muster. Hammad found a partner in Usama Abro who remained resolute in not giving his wicket away, and a much needed partnership of 49 runs off 45 balls allowed the Warriors some more breathing space and a chance to make a respectable total. With Hammad now doing the bulk of the scoring, he found another fighter in the form of Naveed Khan, and the Young Aqib Mahmood who also chipped in with 15 off 12 balls. Hammad’s valiant effort at the crease came to an end after putting on a brave 53 off 58 balls, which somewhat guided his team to a total of 128 in their 20 overs.

At 14-5 in the 5th over, the Warriors would bite off the hand of anyone offering them a final total of 128, however the question would now be if the efforts of Hammad would be enough to pull off a dramatic victory, or if the damage done by Rehan upfront had already sealed the game for the Royals?

The openers Ali Raza and Farhan Ahmed from the Royals provided a prompt answer to any questions with a rollicking start of 49 runs in 28 balls! A fast start as such would have deflated any hopes that the Warriors had of causing any drama in the match, although Hamza and Muneeb restored some order for them by picking up a wicket each in the 5th and 6th over of the powerplay, with the Farhan (29 off 18) and Zeeshan Naseer having played their part in the match. Ali however was in no mood to score a statistical personal milestone and continued with his press post powerplay too with more shots of authority. Ali eventually played one shot too many as Muneeb managed to take another wicket and removing him for an entertaining 32 off 20 balls at a strike rate of 160.

With the required rate very much a straightforward ask for the Royals at below 5 runs per over, the experienced left handed middle order batsman Fawad Bajwa (24* off 20) played a calm finishers role alongside Atta ul Babar (23 off 28) and ensured that the remainder of the runs were chased down without much hiccup for the Royals. The VR completed the chase in the 16th over with 6 wickets to spare and completed a more than convincing victory against the Truthfil Warriors.

There was no doubt now that the opening spell exploits of Rehan Mansoor proved to be the highlight of the match and was therefore awarded the ‘MOTM’ award. The Victorious Royals management should also be commended for their excellent work in the mid season draft having rescued Rehan from cricketing obscurity, and being repaid handsomely for their faith in the form of a match-winning spell by him. A good win for the Victorious Royals, whilst the Truthful Warriors would have to lift their spirits and raise their game for their next fixture!

Scorecard Summary is as follows;

Man of the Match: