MULTAN: Multan Sultans were flying high in the City of Saints while Karachi Kings found themselves in tatters.

The home side cruised to a 55-run win in their HBL Pakistan Super League opener on Sunday against the Kings, whose apparent rebuilding process looked like needing more time.

After being hit for a 185 runs, thanks to a century partnership between Multan’s foreign pair of Reeza Hendricks and Dawid Malan, the Kings never got going as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

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Their chase was dealt with a heavy blow as David Willey (2-22) dismissed opener James Vince and Saad Baig in consecutive deliveries of the third over.

The Kings started counter-attacking in the fifth over as captain and opener Shan Masood found two boundaries off Willey and he, along with veteran Shoaib Malik stabilised the chase when the latter smashed two sixes off Shahnawaz Dahani in the eighth over, which saw the Sultans leak 18 runs.

But the Kings found themselves in trouble against when Shan miscued a slog sweep off leg-spinner Usama Mir to be caught at deep midwicket. Karachi did not score a boundary in the next two overs but Malik took on Pakistan international Iftikhar Ahmed for a towering six and two boundaries in the 12th.

All that for Karachi to lose two wickets in as many balls as Abbas Afridi (2-16) dismissed Malik (53 off 35) — after he had brought up his fifty — and Mohammad Nawaz in the 14th over, leaving the Kings needing 86 runs in six overs with five wickets in hand.

Pacer Mohammad Ali (3-23) added to Karachi’s wounds as he took two more wickets in the next over. The Kings failed to recover from that despite a few lusty blows by Kieron Pollard as their scorecard read 130-8 by the end of 20 overs.

Earlier, Malan and Hendricks were involved in what proved to be a crucial stand of 121 off 84 balls after Multan had lost captain and talisman Moham­mad Rizwan early.

The dismissal, an lbw by left-arm pacer Mir Hamza, however, was not enough to restrict Multan from having a healthy score of 53-1 by the end of the powerplay.

Malan and Hendricks’ collaboration was not devoid of luck as the latter was dropped by his fellow South Africa, chinaman bowler Tabraiz Shamsi off his own bowling in the eighth over.

The left-armer was able to find Hendricks’ leading edge and spilled an easy catch despite looking ready to take the chance. To make it worse for Shamsi, Hend­ricks punished a wayward delivery by the bowler for a four to bring up his 50-run partnership with Malan.

The runs weren’t coming easy for the Multan batters, but they kept scoring a boundary or two in each over as they cruised to 89-1 at the halfway stage.

Multan Sultans batters Dawid Malan (L) and Reeza Hendricks run between the wickets during their match at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Sunday.—AFP
However, that was when the run-flow was disturbed by the Karachi bowlers as Multan failed to hit a six or a four in the next three overs — bowled by veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik and pacers Hasan Ali and Daniel Sams.

The dry spell was broken when in the 14th over, Malan dispatched a half-tracker by Shamsi through the leg-side for four and Hendricks added another boundary to bring up his half-century in 39 balls.

Malan (52 off 41) achieved the feat in the next over off 37 balls but soon fell to Sams after adding two more runs to his tally.

The incoming Khushdil Shah played a reverse sweep off Shamsi to take Multan past 150 in the 18th over before he and Hendricks (79 not out off 54) accounted for 23 runs in the last two overs.

SCOREBOARD

Quetta Gladiators v Peshawar Zalmi

Quetta Gladiators:

Batters & modes of dismissals R B 4s 6s SR

Jason Roy c Saim b Salman 75 48 9 2 156.25

Saud Shakeel c Babar b Wood 74 47 6 4 157.44

Rilee Rossouw b Zeeshan 14 7 1 1 200.00

Sherfane Rutherford c Wood b Salman 20 13 3 0 153.84

Khawaja Nafay not out 6 3 1 0 200.00

Mohammad Wasim c Kohler-Cadmore b Salman 4 2 1 0 200.00

Sarfraz Ahmed not out 0 1 0 0 0.00

EXTRAS (LB-6, NB-1, W-6) 13

TOTAL (for five wickets, 20 overs) 206

DID NOT BAT: Akeal Hosein, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Amir, Abrar Ahmed

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-157 (Saud), 2-172 (Rossouw), 3-185 (Roy), 4-197 (Rutherford), 5-201 (Wasim)

BOWLING: Wood 4-0-39-1 (1w), Zeeshan 4-0-38-1 (1nb), Aamer 2-0-29-0 (4w), Salman 4-0-38-3 (1w), Mousley 3-0-22-0, Saim 3-0-34-0

PESHAWAR ZALMI:

Batters & modes of dismissals R B 4s 6s SR

Saim Ayub run out 42 26 2 3 161.53

Babar Azam c Wasim b Abrar 68 42 4 4 161.90

Mohammad Haris c Roy b Hosein 7 6 1 0 116.66

Tom Kohler-Cadmore c Wasim b Abrar 18 18 0 1 100.00

Rovman Powell c Sarfraz b Amir 17 9 1 1 188.88

Dan Mousley c Hosein b Wasim 11 12 0 1 91.66

Asif Ali not out 2 3 0 0 66.66

Aamer Jamal not out 7 4 1 0 175.00

EXTRAS (LB-4, W-14) 18

TOTAL (for six wickets, 20 overs) 190

DID NOT BAT: Salman Irshad, Luke Wood, Mohammad Zeeshan

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-91 (Saim), 2-108 (Haris), 3-147 (Babar), 4-150 (Kohler-Cadmore), 5-181 (Powell), 6-183 (Mousley)

BOWLING: Amir 4-0-29-1 (2w), Hosein 4-0-38-1 (2w), Hasnain 4-0-41-0 (1w), Wasim 4-0-49-1, Abrar 4-0-29-2 (1w)

RESULT: Quetta Gladiators won by 16 runs.

PLAYER-OF-THE-MATCH: Saud Shakeel

Multan Sultans v Karachi Kings

MULTAN SULTANS:

Batters & modes of dismissals R B 4s 6s SR

Mohammad Rizwan lbw b Hamza 11 12 2 0 91.66

Dawid Malan c sub (Irfan) b Sams 52 41 4 1 126.82

Reeza Hendricks not out 79 54 7 3 146.29

Khushdil Shah not out 28 13 4 0 215.38

EXTRAS (LB-7, W-8) 15

TOTAL (for two wickets, 20 overs) 185

DID NOT BAT: Yasir Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, David Willey, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-17 (Rizwan), 2-138 (Malan)

BOWLING: Hamza 4-0-30-1 (2w), Amir 1-0-7-0, Sams 4-0-37-1 (4w), Malik 2-0-10-0 (1w), Hasan 4-0-38-0 (1w), Shamsi 4-0-45-0, Nawaz 1-0-11-0

KARACHI KINGS:

Batters & modes of dismissals R B 4s 6s SR

Shan Masood c Willey b Usama 30 31 4 1 96.77

James Vince c Ali b Willey 5 4 1 0 125.00

Saad Baig b Willey 0 1 0 0 0.00

Shoaib Malik c Usama b Abbas 53 35 5 2 151.42

Mohammad Nawaz c Hendricks b Abbas 7 10 0 0 70.00

Kieron Pollard not out 27 26 4 1 103.84

Daniel Sams b Ali 0 4 0 0 0.00

Hasan Ali lbw b Ali 0 2 0 0 0.00

Mir Hamza lbw b Ali 0 3 0 0 0.00

Tabraiz Shamsi not out 1 1 0 0 100.00

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-5) 6

TOTAL (for eight wickets, 20 overs) 130

DID NOT BAT: Mohammad Amir Khan

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-10 (Vince), 2-10 (Saad), 3-62 (Shan), 4-99 (Malik), 5-100 (Nawaz), 6-101 (Sams), 7-101 (Hasan), 8-113 (Hamza)

BOWLING: Willey 4-0-22-2 (2w), Ali 4-0-23-3, Dahani 3-0-30-0 (1w), Abbas 3-0-16-2 (1w), Usama 4-0-14-1, Iftikhar 2-0-23-0 (1w)

RESULT: Multan Sultans won by 55 runs.

PLAYER-OF-THE-MATCH: Reeza Hendricks

LAHORE: Leading from the front, experienced all-rounder Shadab Khan steered Islamabad United to a resounding eight-wicket victory over defending champions Lahore Qalandars in the opening match of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.

Chasing a big total of 196 on a batting-friendly track under lights, United were home in the 19th over when Shadab cracked a six off leg-spinner Salman Fayyaz.

Qalandars rued several missed chances, including two dropped catches of Shadab, who had made a bold move of promoting himself to number three.

Shadab smashed an unbeaten 74 off 41 balls, studded with six fours and five sixes, while Salman Ali Agha scored a breezy 64 not out off 31 (seven fours and three sixes). The two built a match-winning 138-run stand after Qalandars lost openers Colin Munro (five) and Alex Hales (28-ball 36), with 62 on the board in the eighth over.

Man-of -the-match Sha­dab was lucky twice, first in the 11th over when he was dropped on 22 by a Qalandars’ skipper Shah­een Shah Afridi over deep extra cover off pacer Haris Rauf. The United skipper got another life in the 14th over when Sahibzada Farhan gra­ssed a difficult chance at fine leg off paceman David Wiese.

After reaching the 100 mark in 10.5 overs, United never looked back as all Qalandars bowlers, including skipper Sha­heen (0-31), failed to make an impact.

In the 13th over, Qalandars missed another chance when Salman tried to take a quick run, but was nowhere near making it to the crease. Young Jahandad Khan, however, failed to hit the stumps.

Flying start

Earlier after being put in to bat, belligerent half-centuries from Farhan and Rassie van der Dussen steered Qalandars to a solid 195 for five off the stipulated overs.

Openers Farhan and Fakhar Zaman gave their side a flying start of 67, with Farhan scoring bulk of the runs.

Shadab, who proved pretty economical with 1-24, dismissed Fakhar for a run-a-ball 13 in the seventh over when the left-hander was caught by Faheem Ashraf at long-on.

Farhan was the next to go, caught behind off English paceman Tymal Mills in the 11th over. He miscued a shot, handing an easy catch to wicket-keeper Azam Khan. The opener, who completed his half-century off 29 balls, made 57 off 36 with eight fours and one six.

However, South Afri­can batter Van der Dussen (71 not out off 41) made sure Qalandars reach a huge total as they raced to 100 in the 12th over. He struck four fours and three sixes.

Abdullah Shafique (28 off 22), who added 73 runs alongside Van der Dussen for the third wicket, kept the scoreboard ticking when he blasted the second maximum of the match towards long-on in the 13th over by Mills.

Van der Dussen and Abdullah hit three sixes in the 15th over bowled by pacer Faheem, who gave away 22 runs in the over. United reached the 150-run mark in the 16th over.

Van der Dussen completed his half century off 31 balls in the 17th over.

Wiese (14 off eight) was dismissed in the penultimate over bowled by speedster Naseem Shah (1-36), who otherwise struggled to find venom and precision.

Scoreboard

LAHORE QALANDARS: Sahibzada Farhan c Azam b Mills 57
Fakhar Zaman c Faheem b Shadab 13
Rassie van der Dussen not out 71
Abdullah Shafique b Mills 28
David Wiese c Hales b Naseem 14
Shaheen Shah Afridi run out 0

EXTRAS (LB-2, NB-1, W-9) 12
TOTAL (for five wickets, 20 overs) 195
DID NOT BAT: Lorcan Tucker, Salman Fayyaz, Jahandad Khan, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-67 (Fakhar), 2-89 (Farhan), 3-162 (Abdullah), 4-178 (Wiese), 5-195 (Shaheen)
BOWLING: Naseem 4-0-36-1 (2w, 1nb), Ubaid 1-0-15-0, Faheem 3-0-40-0, Imad 4-0-33-0 (2w), Shadab 4-0-24-1 (1w), Mills 4-0-45-2

ISLAMABAD UNITED: Colin Munro lbw b Zaman 5
Alex Hales c&b Salman 36
Shadab Khan not out 74
Salman Ali Agha not out 64

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-8, NB-1, W-8) 21
TOTAL (for two wickets, 18.2 overs) 200
DID NOT BAT: Azam Khan, Haider Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah, Ubaid Shah, Tymal Mills
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-41 (Munro), 2-62 (Hales)
BOWLING: Shaheen 4-0-31-0 (3w), Zaman 3-0-33-1 (2w), Jahandad 4-0-39-0 (2w, 1nb), Haris 3-0-38-0, Salman 2.2-0-23-1, Wiese 2-0-24-0
RESULT: Islamabad United won by eight wickets.

Multan Sultans downed Karachi Kings in a convincing 55-run win in the third game of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9 at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Sultans' bowlers were up to the task as they restricted Kings to 130/8 while defending a target of 186. Pacer Mohammad Ali bagged figures of 3/23 on his PSL debut. He dismissed Daniel Sams, Hasan Ali and Mir Hamza.

David Willey, who was appointed Mohammad Rizwan's deputy of Sultans for PSL 9, took 2/23 while Abbas Afridi returned with figures of 2/16.

Multan Sultans down Karachi Kings by 55 runs at PSL 9
Spinner Usama Mir was economical in his spell, bagging figures of 1/14.

Veteran Shoaib Malik was the top performer for the Kings, scoring 54 runs off 35 balls. Skipper Shan Masood made 30 off 31 while West Indies' power-hitter Kieron Pollard provided some resistance in the end to narrow the margin by scoring 28*.

Earlier, Dawid Malan and Reeza Hendricks scored brisk half-centuries to take the home side to 185/2.

Put into bat first, the Sultans registered a commendable total on the board, thanks to a marathon second-wicket partnership between Malan and Hendricks.

The home side, however, had a contrasting start to their innings as Mir Hamza trapped their skipper Mohammad Rizwan (11) lbw on the first delivery of the third over with just 17 runs on the board.

The Sultans were unfazed by the early blow as Hendricks joined Malan in the middle to give them a steady start.

The duo batted with great determination to keep the scoreboard ticking and registered half-centuries at a decent strike rate.

Their 121-run partnership finally ended in the 17th over when Dawid Malan misjudged Daniel Sams’ slower delivery and launched the ball straight to substitute fielder Irfan Khan at deep midwicket.

Malan smashed four boundaries and a six on his way to a 41-ball 52.

Hendricks, on the other hand, stood his ground firm and carried his bat all the way through with an unbeaten 79 off 54 deliveries, laced with seven boundaries and three sixes.

He was involved in yet another crucial partnership for the Sultans when he added 47 runs for the third wicket alongside Khushdil Shah, who played an important cameo at the backend.

Khushdil scored 28 off 13, hitting four boundaries, to help Hendricks bolster the Sultans’ total.

For the Kings, Mir Hamza and Daniel Sams each secured one wicket.

LAHORE: The ninth edition of the PSL is all set to commence today (Saturday), when Lahore Qalandars, two-time champions (2022 and 2023), will take on Islamabad United, who are also two-time champions (2016 and 2018), in the opening fixture at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

The thrilling match between the two sides is expected to begin at 8pm, according to Pakistan time.

In the double-header, the afternoon match will begin at 2pm, while the first ball of the evening match will be bowled at 7pm. The matches taking place during Ramadan will begin at 9pm.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Lahore stadium will host its first opening ceremony of the PSL.

Ali Zafar, Aima Baig to enthrall audience   
The ceremony will kick off at 630pm with an array of exciting performances from renowned artist Arif Lohar, Natasha Baig, pop band Noori, and the singers of the PSL 9 anthem song Ali Zafar and Aima Baig. Fans will also be treated to spectacular fireworks and a mesmerising laser show.

The tournament will see four cities, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, and Rawalpindi host 34 matches of the marquee event.

As per the details, Lahore stadium will host nine matches, which includes Qalandars playing five matches on their home turf.

The picturesque Multan Cricket Stadium will host five matches – all Multan Sultans fixtures. Lahore and Multan will host the first leg of the league from 17 to 27 February before action moves to Karachi and Rawalpindi.

Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi will host nine matches from March 2 to 10 with United featuring in five matches. Peshawar Zalmi will play four of their 10 matches in Rawalpindi, while Quetta Gladiators will play three matches at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.

Karachi’s National Bank Stadium will host 11 matches including the grand finale on March 18. The home side Karachi Kings will play a minimum of five matches at the venue, while Gladiators will get to play at least three matches at the stadium.

Captains’ thoughts
United's skipper Shadab Khan said: “I have been captain of Islamabad United for the last four seasons and I want to lift the trophy for my team this season.”

“The additions of Imad Wasim and the Shah brothers are a huge boost for the franchise. Faheem Ashraf and Azam Khan are two vital cogs in our team. I want my team to stand tall in high-pressure games and get over the line.”

He said they had evaluated their mistakes from the last season and were looking forward to executing their plans aptly that time around.

Kings captain Shan Masood remarked: “To represent and lead my hometown team Karachi in the PSL is such a huge honour.”

“It is a rebuilding process for Karachi Kings, where we are looking to build a core group of young players who can serve the franchise for the next five years.”

He said they had a great chance to do well given the last part of the tournament was set to take place in Karachi.

Qalandars’ Shaheen Shah Afridi said: “I am genuinely excited to be leading Lahore Qalandars for the third consecutive season in PSL and the hunt for a hat-trick of titles makes me eager to do well.”

He said they were eying a third PSL win this time and he could assure the people that his team would show the same intensity as they have done in the past two seasons.

“Lahore Qalandars are proud of having a strong fan base and our games in Lahore are going to be jam-packed,” he added.

Sultans skipper Mohammad Rizwan said: “PSL is a world-class league and we are all proud to be a part of this league.”

Multan's pacers and emerging players had dominated the previous two seasons and that was one of the reasons of Sultans doing well consistently, he added.

Rizwan said this season they had got a strong squad as well and would look to maintain the standards.

“Multan crowds have given us a lot of love over the last two seasons and hopefully, they will again support us with the same enthusiasm this year,” he added.

Zalmi captain Babar Azam claimed: “Peshawar Zalmi has been one of the most exciting sides in PSL history and with our current squad we are well poised to emerge as champions in this season.”

He said some of the players were highly talented and gifted in their bowling and batting departments which gives Zalmi an edge over other teams.

Gladiators skipper Rilee Rossouw said: “The opportunity to lead a side in PSL doesn't come around often and it is such an honour for me.”

“My expectation this season is to obviously win the PSL 9. As a side, we will try to make it a high-performance arena.”

He further said that he thought conditions in Karachi and Lahore would suit Gladiators and that was where they would look to bag the most points.

Squads
The six participating teams have beefed up their 20-member squads ahead of the event starting tomorrow.

Islamabad United

Shadab Khan (captain), Alex Hales, Azam Khan, Colin Munro, Faheem Ashraf, Haider Ali, Imad Wasim, Jordan Cox, Matthew Forde, Mohammad Waseem, Naseem Shah, Obed McCoy, Qasim Akram, Rumman Raees, Salman Ali Agha, Shahab Khan and Tymal Mills

Emerging: Hunain Shah, Shamyl Hussain and Ubaid Shah

Karachi Kings

Shan Masood (captain), Anwar Ali, Arafat Minhas, Blessing Muzarabani, Daniel Sams, Hassan Ali, James Vince, Kieron Pollard, Leus Du Plooy, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Akhlaq, Mohammad Amir Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shoaib Malik and Tabraiz Shamsi

Emerging: Fawad Ali, Irfan Khan Niazi, Mohammad Rohid, Saad Baig and Sirajuddin

Lahore Qalandars

Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti, Dan Lawrence, David Wiese, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Lorcan Tucker, Mirza Tahir Baig, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Rassie van der Dussen, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Fayyaz, Shai Hope, Sikandar Raza and Zaman Khan

Emerging: Jahandad Khan, Syed Faridoun Mahmood and Tayyab Abbas

Multan Sultans

Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Abbas Afridi, Aftab Ibrahim, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Dawid Malan, Iftikhar Ahmad, Ihsanullah, Johnson Charles, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Olly Stone, Reeza Hendricks, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tayyab Tahir, Usama Mir and Usman Khan

Emerging: Faisal Akram, Mohammad Shahzad and Yasir Khan

Peshawar Zalmi

Babar Azam (captain), Aamir Jamal, Arif Yaqoob, Arshad Iqbal, Asif Ali, Daniel Mousley, Luke Wood, Mohammad Haris, Paul Walter, Rovman Powell, Saim Ayub, Salman Irshad, Sufyan Muqeem, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Umair Afridi and Waqar Salamkheil

Emerging: Aimal Khan, Haseebullah Khan, Mehran Mumtaz and Mohammad Zeeshan

Quetta Gladiators

Rilee Rossouw (captain), Abrar Ahmad, Bismillah Khan, Jason Roy, Laurie Evans, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Omair bin Yousuf, Sajjad Ali Jnr, Sarfaraz Ahmad, Saud Shakeel, Sherfane Rutherford, Sohail Khan, Umar Amin, Usman Qadir, Usman Tariq and Will Smeed

Emerging: Adil Naz and Khawaja Mohammad Nafay

LAHORE: Defending champions Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United are all set to lock horns in the opening clash of the ninth edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Saturday night.

Both the teams have two titles to their name each. While the Qalandars have won back-to-back editions in 2022 and 2023, United clinched the inaugural season in 2016 and then in 2018.

The new edition’s first ball will be bowled at 8.00pm after the conclusion of what is expected to be a colourful opening ceremony, which is set to start at 6.30pm.

Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi — under whose captaincy the side won their first two titles after going trophy-less in the first six seasons — and Islamabad United skipper Shadab Khan addressed pre-match press conferences here on Friday.

Qalandars, United set to lock horns after star-studded opening ceremony

“We have won back to back editions of the PSL and now we will try to clinch the title for the third consecutive time,” Shaheen, who is also Pakistan’s T20 captain, said.

Qalandars go into the season without the services of a major strike bowler in Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, but Shaheen believed his team’s squad was balanced.

“Though we do not have the services of Rashid Khan, our picks have been strong and we are satisfied with the combination,” he said. “We will miss Rashid as he has played a pivotal role in our wins in the last two editions.”

Pakistan pace sensation Naseem Shah has also returned from injury to play his first season for United, who have also picked his brothers — also pace bowlers — Hunain Shah and Ubaid Shah, who was impressive for Pakistan in the recent U-19 World Cup, in the emerging players category.

Shaheen expressed his happiness about Naseem’s return, while also providing his views on his brothers.

“He is back to play for Islamabad after recovering from his fitness problems and we all pray for his good performance so that he could come back in the Pakistan team,” he said, while adding that he believed that Ubaid was quicker than Naseem.

Shaheen said he expected the Gaddafi Stadium crowd to stand behind the Qalandars while admitting he was looking to keep his pace restricted between 135-140 kmph mark.

The left-armer said he expected his fellow Qalandars pacers Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan to capitalise on their abilities, while noting that the team needed to bring out its best in all departments of the game.

Meanwhile, Shadab, who has also recovered from fitness problems recently after a long period, said he had come back in the PSL with a positive mindset.

About the return of Naseem, Shadab said the bowler needed to be given time to reach the top of his performance after what was a significant injury.

“My prayers for Naseem, who is coming back after a long time, and he may take some time to get back,” he said.

Shadab said the Qalandars were strong rivals to United and that they weren’t an easy side to beat but added that his team was capable of performing well according to the situation.

That, the former Pakis­tan vice-captain added, required unity among the players. Shadab, like Shaheen, also hoped the Lahore crowd would back the Islamabad outfit.

Shadab said his performances before his injury weren’t up to the mark and the criticism hurled towards him was not unfair.

Tragedy struck the football community in Indonesia last week as 34-year-old Indonesian footballer Septian Raharja lost his life after being struck by lightning during a friendly match. 

Raharja, who played for Football Boss Indonesia (FBI) Subang, was on the pitch at Siliwangi Stadium in Bandung when the incident occurred.

A chilling video circulating on social media captured the moment Raharja was struck by lightning, causing him to collapse on the ground. Another player, standing nearby, also fell after the impact. The sudden and tragic event prompted some players to flee the field, while Raharja's teammate rushed to assist.

According to reports from Indonesian news outlet PRFM news, Raharja was alive immediately after the lightning strike around 3:30 pm. Despite being less than a kilometre away from the hospital, his condition deteriorated on the way, and he was declared dead upon arrival.

Raharja's opponent, identified as GJ, described the weather conditions during the match, stating, "It was hot at the start of the game, but it was already raining in the south and east. It was still hot on the field. That’s why we dared to play." GJ revealed that Raharja's leg showed signs of burning, and a scar was visible on his chest.

Football Boss Indonesia (FBI) Subang paid tribute to Raharja by sharing a photo on their Instagram account, accompanied by a flower emoji and the date of his passing. The football community, including former Indonesian national team striker Cristian Gonzales, expressed condolences for the loss. Another team affiliated with the FBI observed a moment of silence to honour Septian Raharja.

This tragic incident in Indonesia echoes a similar event nearly two decades ago in Singapore. In March 2004, Jiang Tao, an 18-year-old player from the now-defunct Chinese S-League club Sinchi FC, lost his life after being struck by lightning during training at Jurong Stadium, which has since been demolished.