Lahore Qalandars batter Fakhar Zaman has been charged with ball-tampering in Sunday’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) match against Karachi Kings, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement.

The incident occurred in the final over with Karachi needing 14 runs to win. Fakhar, Lahore captain Shaheen Afridi and fast bowler Haris Rauf were involved in a brief discussion, during which Fakhar and Rauf passed the ball between them.

The umpire then approached Rauf and asked to see the ball. Following consultations with the square-leg umpire, the officials awarded five penalty runs to Karachi and ordered the ball to be changed.

The penalty proved costly as Karachi went on to chase down a target of 129 with three balls to spare, Abbas Afridi hitting a four and a six to seal a four-wicket victory.

“Fakhar denied the charge levelled against him during a disciplinary hearing led by the match referee Roshan Mahanama,” the PCB said.

“Another hearing is set to take place within the next 48 hours after which the match referee will share his verdict.”

Afridi said they would look at video footage of the incident.

“I don’t know about this, and we’ll see if it’s there in the camera and discuss it,” he said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Fakhar could face a ban of one or two matches if found guilty of ball tampering for a first offence in the PSL.

Australian trio David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft were handed lengthy bans by Cricket Australia following a 2018 ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

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LAHORE: Karachi Kings pulled off a tense four-wicket victory over traditional rivals Lahore Qalandars in a low-scoring HBL Pakistan Super League encounter at the Gaddafi Stad­i­um on Sunday, successfully chasing a modest 129 with three balls to spare.

The win was built on a disciplined bowling display and a gritty chase that survived a middle-order wobble before Abbas Afridi’s explosive finish.

Opting to bat first on a surface that offered assistance to spinners and some seam movement, Lahore Qalan­dars never found rhythm. They were restricted to 128 for 9 in 20 overs, a total that always looked under par on a ground where chasing has often been straightforward.

Karachi’s varied attack, led by Adam Zampa’s economical spell and Moeen Ali’s craft, dismantled the Qalandars’ top order and middle order with clinical efficiency.

The home side’s innings got off to a shaky start when Fakhar Zaman was stumped off Moeen in the first over for just one.

Mohammad Naeem provided some early impetus with a six off Mir Hamza but fell for 13, caught and bowled by the same bowler. Abdullah Shafique looked fluent, stroking 33 off 24 balls, but his dismissal to a half-tracker from Zampa triggered a collapse. Parvez Hossain Emon (12) and Sikandar Raza (19) could not accelerate sufficiently.

Haseebullah Khan waged a lone battle at the top, finishing with 28 off 30, but the lower order crumbled und­er pressure. Shaheen Shah Afridi (7) and Usama Mir fell to lbw decisions, while Haris Rauf managed only four.

Lahore lost wickets at regular intervals, managing just 20 runs in the last five overs — a telling statistic on a pitch that demanded careful accumulation rather than reckless hitting.

Karachi’s bowling was a textbook display of variety. Zampa was the standout with figures of 2-11, proving once again why he remains one of the world’s most effective wrist-spinners on helpful surfaces. Moeen claimed 2-31, while Hamza and Hasan Ali chipped in with two and one wicket respectively. Salman Ali Agha and Abbas also contributed to the stranglehold. Lahore’s decision to bat first, perhaps hoping to post a defendable total on a spin-friendly track, backfired spectacularly.

Karachi’s chase began cautiously. Sha­heen, leading from the front, gave Kar­achi an early jolt by removing Dav­id Warner (8) and Salman in the space of two deliveries in the third over.

Saad Baig (19) and Mohammad Waseem (38) then steadied the ship, but Mustafizur Rahman’s clever variations accounted for Saad, leaving Karachi at 39 for 3.

Waseem and Moeen (18) added 43 crucial runs, but Shaheen returned to strike twice in the 15th over, removing both set batters. At 88 for 5, the game hung in the balance. Azam Khan and Khushdil Shah then played sensibly, rotating strike and keeping the required rate under control.

With 23 needed off 12 balls, tension peaked. Mustafizur conceded 14 runs in the 19th over, including a five-run penalty for ball tampering after the ball was changed, which shifted momentum decisively.

Khushdil fell to a superb catch by Raza off Haris, but Abbas walked in and delivered the knockout punch.

The all-rounder smashed a boundary and a towering six off Haris in the final over, sealing victory with a six that sailed into the night sky. His unbeaten 10 off just two balls turned a nervy finish into a statement. Azam remained not out on 14.

Scoreboard

LAHORE QALANDARS:

Mohammad Naeem c&b Hamza 13

Fakhar Zaman st Azam b Ali 1

Abdullah Shafique c Hasan b Zampa 33

Parvez Hossain lbw b Salman 12

Haseebullah Khan b Hasan 28

Sikandar Raza c Khushdil b Abbas 19

Shaheen Shah Afridi lbw b Ali 7

Usama Mir lbw b Zampa 1

Haris Rauf c Khushdil b Hamza 4

Ubaid Shah not out 0

Mustafizur Rahman not out 1

EXTRAS (LB-3, NB-2, W-4) 9

TOTAL (for nine wickets, 20 overs) 128

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-3 (Fakhar), 2-28 (Naeem), 3-56 (Abdullah), 4-62 (Parvez), 5-105 (Raza), 6-115 (Shaheen), 7-119 (Usama), 8-125 (Haseebullah), 9-125 (Haris)

BOWLING: Ali 4-0-31-2, Hamza 3-0-14-2 (2w), Hasan 4-0-25-1 (2w), Salman 3-0-25-1, Zampa 4-1-11-2, Abbas 2-0-19-1 (2nb)

KARACHI KINGS:

D. Warner c Raza b Shaheen 8

Mohammad Waseem c Usama b Shaheen 38

Salman Ali Agha c Haseebullah b Shaheen 0

Saad Baig c Haseebullah b Mustafizur 19

Moeen Ali c Raza b Shaheen 18

Azam Khan not out 14

Khushdil Shah c Raza b Haris 13

Abbas Afridi not out 10

EXTRAS (LB-1, NB-1, W-4, PEN-5) 11

TOTAL (for six wickets, 19.3 overs) 131

DID NOT BAT: Hasan Ali, A. Zampa, Mir Hamza

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-10 (Warner), 2-10 (Salman), 3-39 (Saad), 4-82 (Waseem), 5-88 (Ali), 6-120 (Khushdil)

BOWLING: Shaheen 4-0-18-4 (2w), Ubaid 3-1-11-0 (1w), Haris 3.3-0-45-1 (1w), Raza 1-0-11-0 (1nb), Mustafizur 4-0-20-1, Usama 4-0-20-0

RESULT: Karachi Kings won by four wickets.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Adam Zampa

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2026

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LAHORE: Impressive half-centuries by Shamyl Hussain and Hasan Nawaz and Abrar Ahmad’s fine show with the leather guided Quetta Gladiators to a facile 40-run victory over Hyderabad Kingsmen in their HBL Pakistan Super League match here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.

This was Gladiators’ first victory of the season after they lost their opening game against Kara­chi Kings on Friday while Kings­men suffered their second successive defeat after being routed by defending champions Lahore Qalandars in the PSL 11 opener.

Player-of-the-match Shamyl and Hasan lifted Gladiators to a respectable 174-8 after skipper Saud Shakeel elected to bat first.

Kingsmen crumbled in the chase and were restricted to a paltry 134-8 off 20 overs thanks to mystery spinner Abrar, who snared three wickets for 23 runs. Medium-pacer Ahmad Daniyal also fared well picking up two wickets for just 13 runs.

Kingsmen’s chase got off to a disastrous start as Saim Ayub (eight) departed in the first over after getting caught by wicket-keeper Ben McDermott off pacer Alzarri Joseph.

Saim was followed by fellow opener Maaz Sadaqat, who was caught for nought by Shamyl off Abrar in the second over as the Marnus Labuschagne-led team slumped to 17-2. After losing the openers, Kingsmen never recovered despite fighting cameos by Irfan Khan and Hassan Khan later in the innings.

Usman Khan (14 off 18) nicked the ball to McDermott in the sixth over, giving Abrar his second wicket as Kingsmen ended powerplay at a feeble 37-3. Just two balls after they reached 50 off 8.4 overs, Lab­u­schagne’s brigade lost Saad Ali as he failed to clear the long-on boundary to get caught by Joseph off the bowling of off-spinner Us­m­an Tariq. They were now 51-4.

Labuschagne’s cautious stay of 23 off 21 ended in the next over wh­en he fell to occasional slow left-arm orthodox spinner Saud as Kingsmen descended to 57-5.

Irfan (33 off 25) and Hassan (31 off 19) combined to make an effort as they added 48 runs for the sixth wicket and in the process got past 100 in 14 overs.

McDermott’s superb grab down the leg-side off Ahmed sent Hassan back to the hut as Kings­men required 70 off the final five overs. The tough ask became tougher when Irfan was stumped by McDermott in the 18th over bowled by Abrar as the scoreboard read 129-7.

When Hammad Azam (six) was caught by Hasan at deep mid-wicket off Ahmed’s slower ball in the 19th over, all hopes of Kingsmen ended.

Usman finished with 1-26 while Joseph had 1-39.

Earlier, entertaining knocks by Shamyl (54 off 41 balls) and Hasan (53 off 40) helped Gladiat­ors post a fighting total that pro­ved more than enough in the end.

The loss of two key wickets of Saud (four) and Rilee Rossouw (0), both to pacer Riley Meredith, left Gladiators reeling at 25-2 in the fourth over.

However, a superb 89-run partnership between Shamyl and Has­an, who struck two fours and three sixes, off just 43 balls steadied the innings. They in the process first moved to 45-2 in powerplay and then reached 100 in 11.4 overs.

When Shamyl, who smashed three fours and as many sixes, was caught by Saim at sweeper cover off Meredith, it triggered a mini batting collapse that redu­ced Gladiators from a commanding 114-3 in the 14th over to 128-6 in the 16th as off-spinner Mahe­esh Theekshana trapped Khaw­aja Nafay (six) and McDermott (zero) off successive deliveries in the 15th over and then Hasan’s run-out in the 16th over due to a terrible mix-up with Tom Curran dented Gladiators’ cause further.

Curran contributed a precious 18-ball 31 — laced with three sixes and a four — to give respectability to the total before he and Joseph (zero) were dismissed by pacer Akif Javed in the final over of the innings.

Meredith claimed three wickets for 38 runs, Theekshana took two for 24 while Akif ended with figures of 2-25 in two overs. Has­s­an (0-40) and Labuschagne (0-19 in two overs) remained expensive.

Scoreboard

QUETTA GLADIATORS:

Saud Shakeel c Hammad b Meredith 4

Shamyl Hussain c Saim b Meredith 54

R. Rossouw c Labuschagne b Meredith 0

Hasan Nawaz run out (Saad) 53

Khawaja Nafay lbw b Theekshana 6

B. McDermott lbw b Theekshana 0

T. Curran c Saim b Akif 31

Ahmed Daniyal not out 6

A. Joseph c Hassan b Akif 0

Abrar Ahmed not out 9

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-1, NB-5, W-4) 11

TOTAL (for eight wickets, 20 overs) 174

DID NOT BAT: Usman Tariq

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-21 (Saudl), 2-25 (Rossouw), 3-114 (Shamyl), 4-121 (Nafay), 5-121 (McDermott), 6-128 (Hasan), 7-165 (Curran), 8-165 (Joseph)

BOWLING: Theekshana 4-0-24-2, Meredith 4-0-38-3 (2w, 1nb), Saim 4-0-26-0 (1nb), Akif 2-0-25-2 (1nb), Labuschagne 2-0-19-0 (1w, 1nb), Hassan 4-0-40-0 (1w, 1nb)

HYDERABAD KINGSMEN:

Saim Ayub c McDermott b Joseph 8

Maaz Sadaqat c Shamyl b Abrar 0

M. Labuschagne c Shamyl b Saud 23

Usman Khan c McDermott b Abrar 14

Saad Ali c Joseph b Usman 7

Irfan Khan st McDermott b Abrar 33

Hassan Khan c McDermott b Ahmed 31

Hammad Azam c Hasan b Ahmed 6

M. Theekshana not out 2

R. Meredith not out 3

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-1, W-5) 7

TOTAL (for eight wickets, 20 overs) 134

DID NOT BAT: Akif Javed

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-9 (Saim), 2-17 (Maaz), 3-35 (Usman), 4-51 (Saad), 5-57 (Labuschagne), 6-105 (Hassan), 7-129 (Irfan), 8-129 (Hammad)

BOWLING: Joseph 4-0-39-1 (1w), Abrar 4-0-23-3 (1w), Ahmed 4-0-13-2 (1w), Curran 3-0-21-0 (1w), Usman 4-0-26-1 (1w), Saud 1-0-10-1

RESULT: Quetta Gladiators won by 40 runs.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Shamyl Hussain

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2026

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