JOIN USSialkot Stallions will go back home with some pride as they pipped Hampshire by six wickets in their inconsequential Pool 1 qualifying match of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament here on Thursday.
It was a dead rubber since both the teams have already been eliminated. Auckland Aces had qualified for the main draw from Pool 1 after defeating both Hampshire and Sialkot in the earlier matches.
Stallions did a good job by restricting Hampshire to 143 for eight after electing to bowl and then overcame a poor start to overhaul the target with five balls to spare.
Left-handed batsman Haris Sohail played a vital unbeaten knock of 63 runs and raised a 96-run match-winning partnership with skipper Shoaib Malik (39) for the fourth wicket in Stallions’ win.
The Pakistan domestic T20 champions were playing in the CLT20 tournament first the time but could not qualify for the main competition.
It was Glenn Maxwell’s quick-fire 42 off 29 balls and his 56-run partnership with Shahid Afridi (14) that had lifted the English County team to a decent total from a miserable 66 for four in 11 overs.
Hampshire bowlers raised hopes of win by getting three quick wickets, reducing the rivals to 28 for three in seven overs but Malik and Sohail responded to the SOS call well.
Match abandoned
Another inconsequential qualifying match between Trinidad and Tobago and Uva Next was called off on Thursday due to wet ground conditions.
Brief scores: Hampshire: 143/8 in 20 overs (G Maxwell 42; Umaid Asif 2-42) lt to Sialkot Stallions: 144/4 in 19.1 overs (Haris Sohail 63 n.o., Shoaib Malik 39).
Trinidad & Tobago: 181/3 in 20 overs (Lendl Simmons 34, William Perkins 32, Darren Bravo 54 n.o., Denesh Ramdin 50 n.o.) vs Uva Next: 0/1 in 0.1 overs. Match abandoned.