Giants rule over Badshahs

GURGAON: Lahore Badshahs have been a sleeping giant in the ICL 20-20 championships this season. After losing their first two games, they came back with convincing back-to-back victories.
On the second game of Sunday against Delhi Giants, at the Tau Devi Lal stadium, to start with, the Badshahs looked lost in reverie. They posted a modest 147 for the Giants to chase.It wasn't good enough. Giants won by six wickets.
Giants have to put up similar performances like this for the rest of their three matches if they are to reach the semis. For Giants, it was stylish S Abbas Ali (52 off 46 balls) and cool-headed Abhinav Bali (47 off 41 balls) who saw them through. But the bulk of credit should go to left-arm spinner Ali Murtuza who returned with four wickets for seven runs which really put Badshahs in the lurch.
Earlier, Badshahs opener Imran Nazir was the first to go due to ignorance regarding the referral rules. The square-leg umpire declared Nazir stumped out but Nazir didn't know that he could refer it. He realised it while returning to the pavilion when his mates told him from the dug-out that the replay showed he was not out. Nazir then wanted to refer it but by then it was too late (It has to referred within ten seconds). The score was 28 then. Soon, four wickets fell for 35 runs.
Badshahs picked themselves up thereafter and garnered a partnership worth 84 from 47 balls. between all-rounder Azhar Mahmood (67 off 39 balls) and Khalid Mahmood (20 off 20 balls).
Brief score:
Lahore Badshahs 147/5 (Azhar Mahmood 67 n.o; Ali Murtaza 4/7) lost to Delhi Giants 148/4 in 18.3 overs (Abbas Ali 52, Abhinav Bali 47 n.o)