Mohammad Hasnain looked in stupendous form when the Panthers locked horns with Markhors in the Qualifier of the Champions One Day Cup in Pakistan on Tuesday, September 24, Hasnain blew away Markhors after the Panthers were asked to bowl first. On the back of his spell, Markhors were reduced to 37 for the loss of four wickets in the powerplay.
Hasnain breathed fire with an opening spell of 5-1-16-3. In his first over, the speedster showed accuracy and gave away only two runs. It was in the second over that he wreaked havoc after dismissing Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Rizwan off consecutive balls.
The 28-year-old Ghulam is the leading run-scorer in the ongoing tournament, having racked up 248 runs from five innings at an average of 49.50 with two centuries to his name. But he got out to Hasnain in a rather tame manner.
Hasnain got the ball to jag back sharply. Assuming that the ball would shape away, Ghulam intended to leave the ball. But he was struck on the pads and Rashid Riaz raised his finger right away. Thereafter, he got rid of Rizwan with a beautiful out-swinger.
Rizwan tried to play an ambitious shot outside the off-stump and got a thick outside edge to Usman Khan, who took a simple catch in the slip cordon. Fakhar Zaman threatened with a couple of fours before a top edge led to his dismissal.
Mohammad Hasnain in brilliant form
Hasnain eventually finished with figures of 9-2-25-3 as the Panthers bowled Markhors out for 137 in 36 overs. The pacer is currently the top wicket-taker in the Champions Cup, having taken 14 wickets from five matches at an economy rate of 5.26.
Earlier, he also took a five-wicket haul against the Dolphins. He last played for Pakistan in the home series against New Zealand back in January 2023.
