Farzan Raja stars as Lahore Qalandars beat Sydney Sixers Academy

SYDNEY: A superb all-round bowling performance by Farzan Raja helped Lahore Qalandars’ development squad beat Sydney Sixers Academy by nine runs on Tuesday to register their second win in the ongoing Quin Series T20.

The 24-year old law student from Lahore scored 24 to help Qalandars post 116 on the board, and then spun the ball magically to take three wickets, conceding just 19 runs.

He added 51 runs for the 6th wicket partnership along with Shahzad Ali, after Qalandars lost five wickets with only 52 on board.

Raja hit two boundaries for his 27-ball-24 and tried to stay on wicket till the end.

Shahzad Ali scored three boundaries for his 40, which came off 32 deliveries before he was stumped by the wicketkeeper.

“I threw my wicket in a hurry, I should have stayed there for long and completed my half century,” said Shahzad, who now feels that the innings was a great lesson for him.

Chasing 117, the Sydney Sixers Academy team wasn’t allowed by Qalandars to settle.

They were seven wickets down with just 38 runs on the board, but O Davies remained defiant and first added 29 runs for the 8th wicket with N Bills and then 38 runs for the 9th wicket with T Pinson to bring Sixers close to victory, before Husnain Shah removed Pinson and a mix-up caused a run out.

Maaz Khan and Salman Irshad took two wickets apiece.

“I am happy with my performance, I bowled according to the instructions given to me by head coach Aaqib Javed,” Raja said after being named man of the match.

“The match was do or die for us and I’m happy that we fought back, the bowlers did well collectively which gives us confidence of doing better in the games to come,” he added.

The win has kept Qalandars’ hopes alive in the tournament, with two wins in three games.

The Qalandars had earlier lost to Auckland Aces by four wickets at the same venue in the morning. They were bowled out for mere 111 runs as McEwan took five wickets for 26 runs.

They now play Hobart Hurricanes on Wednesday in Blacktown. The result will determine Qalandars’ position on the points table and their future in the tournament.