Lahore Lions take title after runfest

A vintage Abdul Razzaq onslaught muscled Lahore Lions to the second highest total of the tournament, which proved too much even for Karachi Dolphins' powerful batting line-up in the final of the Faysal Bank T-20 Cup at a 

packed Gaddafi Stadium. Lahore's openers, Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad, also made major contributions to leave Karachi without a trophy despite four trips to the final of the domestic Twenty20 competition.

Shehzad, an 18-year-old who played one match during Pakistan's run to the World Twenty20 title last year, did the early damage cracking four fours and a six in fast bowler Mohammad Sami's first two overs. He fell for 43 in the seventh over, by when Jamshed had shrugged off his slow start. Even the dismissal of Umar Akmal, perhaps Lahore's most dangerous batsman, did not slow Jamshed, who brought up his second half-century of the tournament.

Shehzad finished as the second highest run-getter in the competition and Jamshed the third, but the batsman who made the most impact on the final was Razzaq. He started the 18th over on 28 off 15 deliveries, and clubbed four sixes and three fours in the final three overs to finish on 71 off 29. Lahore looted 57 in that spell to amass 221 against a Karachi side that had easily hunted down 210 in the semi-finals.

Karachi made a spirited start to the chase, with two sixes in the first over showing their intent. They sprinted to 53 for 1 in the fifth over before losing Shahzaib Hasan, the tournament's most successful batsman and another youngster who came into prominence during last year's World Twenty20. Still, Fawad Alam and Shahid Afridi, who played crucial roles in the semi-final win on Friday, remained and they powered Karachi to 88 for 3 in nine overs.

Fast bowler Wahab Riaz, who recently took five wickets on Test debut at The Oval, then provided the breakthrough, removing Alam in an over which cost only two runs. Much depended on Afridi now, a man who bludgeoned runs at a strike-rate of 216 through the competition. He wasn't giving up - even with the asking rate beyond 14 - and blasted two sixes and three fours in a two-over spell that yielded 42 runs and had Karachi hoping again.

The match was effectively finished in the 16th over when a slower ball from Waqas Ahmed bowled Afridi. From 151 from 7, and all their main batsmen dismissed, Karachi's chances evaporated and they were finally bowled out for 184, handing Lahore their first Twenty20 title.