Both teams in good spirits after their recent wins, but the 5th game for the strikers meant that the margin of error was going to have to be minimal. Shakir (captain of the strikers) opted to bowl first in order to continue their chasing momentum since their last match.

Irfan Ahmed was opening the bowling this time alongside Zeeshan Ali, and with the dangerous Safwan in their sights, the first three overs of the match were relatively decent with the score at 24-0. The carnage began in the 4th over, where Safwan decided that he’s had enough of a sighter and now it was time to put the foot on the pedal! Two back to back overs of 18 runs spelt huge problems for captain Shakir, who needed to do something to put the brakes on for the Strikers. Bringing himself on for the 6th over of the powerplay, Shakir did provide the breakthrough with the score at 60-1 (Ehtisham departing), soon followed by Usama Khwaja also falling prey to Shakir by the end of the over. A fantastic double wicket maiden by the skipper of the strikers.

Safwan who was still at the crease was in no mood to slow down and reassess, he kept going with his captain (Tahir Kang) at the crease alongside him. Shakir and Sadeed shortly after were in the firing line as Safwan was in the mood to line them up with two more overs of 20+ having scored his 50 off 24 balls in the process. The right handed Destroyer was in inspired boundary hitting form as he raced towards 95 off 38 balls (10 fours and 8 sixes), and in no mood to play for his personal milestone either as he was eventually bowled out by Hamza Iqbal after not being able to hit the 3rd boundary on the trot against him. A sublime, destructive innings had come to an end with the score at 130-3 in 13 overs.

Muha Ud Deen took over from where Safwan had left off, and he too was now becoming a major problem for the Strikers as he wasn’t allowing the left arm spin of Fazl-E-Omar settle, another big over of 20 runs and no respite for the Strikers! Hamza Iqbal provided the Strikers with another sigh of relief not too long after with the wicket of Muha Ud Deen (20 off 9 balls, strike rate 222!) and the score now 160-4 in 14 overs.

With wickets and overs in the bank for the Challengers, captain Tahir Ahmed decided that he too wanted a piece of the action as the third wave of assault on the strikers was launched through his bat in the closing overs of the game. Tahir remained not out for 65 (38 balls, striking at 171) with 5 fours and 4 sixes to his name, and the final total at a mammoth 220-7 by the end of the innings.

The Mighty Strikers had endured a mighty striking in the first half of the match, but they would know that they had the firepower themselves to challenge the Challengers with the asking rate of 11 from ball 1. A big second half of the game was to follow…

The start was ideal for the Strikers indeed, Amir Saeed lacing 3 boundaries in the opening over against the extra pace of Tahir Kang and announcing the intentions of the Strikers! Salman Jajja was on new ball duty again, and the military pace of the man may have been the trick on this belter of a track. Salman tormented the Strikers batsmen with a barrage of dot balls in the powerplay, as each dot would increase the already high required run rate and add pressure on the Strikers camp. With Shakir departing early (2nd conservative run out), and Ahmed Sarfaraz also following him soon after, the Might strikers were now in a spot of bother!

Salman continued with his economical overs in the powerplay, bowling 12 dot balls in his three overs (practically wiping out 2 overs for the Strikers), an effort that must be highly commended in a game of such high batting intensity. Salman finished his spell of 4 overs for 14 runs which included 17 dot balls that would be worth a million dollars each for the Challangers. Mudassar Dogar (the saviour from the previous match) wanted to press the charge with two emphatic hits against Muha Ud Deen for 10 runs, but luck wasn’t on his side in this match as he departed for 14 and the score now at 4-40 in 6 overs.

Story’s of nuclear warheads are the flavour of the season, with the release of Oppenheimer on Friday. However, the veteran Irfan Ahmed was about to tell a story of destructiveness with the bat on this day! With absolute clarity of mind, Irfan Ahmed wanted to chase the 180 runs left in the last 14 overs. The Challangers batsmen who may have inflicted some serious damage to bowling figures were now going to get a taste of their own medicine as Irfan recorded a 17 ball 50 (quite possibly a league record) in no time! The chase was now back on with the score at 104-5 in 10.4 overs, with Qaiser Mahmood departing for the Strikers.

Irfan had already lined up Jamil for 23 runs, but he knew that this wasn’t going to be enough as the strikers needed a few more big overs from his bat. A brief cat and mouse game between Irfan and the canny Ishaq Ahmed ensued, with Irfan eventually getting the better of him for the most part of the 14th over, having scored 17 off the first 4 balls. Ishaq however held his nerve and provided his side with the huge breakthrough and possibly the match with the wicket of Irfan off the 5th ball, thus ending his assault of 71 runs off 24 balls (5 fours and 7 sixes at a strike rate of 295!).

With 86 runs needed off 6 overs and only 3 more wickets remaining, it was safe to say that the Challengers had finally tightened their grip on the game after seeing the back of Irfan who definitely threatened to take this match away from them. A brief cameo by the brave hearted Zeeshan Ali (30 off 16 balls) provided a glimmer of hope for the Strikers, but it was all too much for the chasing side as they were eventually bowled out 42 runs short of the total. A respectable effort, but the damage done by the Challengers in the first half was too much to repair!

A great game for the spectators as a total of 26 sixes was hit in the contest! The KCL witnessed one of the fastest 50’s in its league history through Irfan Ahmed, but the deserving MOTM for this battle was indeed Safwan Manzoor, who’s 95 off 38 laid the foundation for a huge total for his side. Another great win for the Challangers, who have now put the entire league on red alert with a serious batting outfit they possess!

Scorecard summary is as follows;

Man of the match;