Shaheen Afridi Questions Five-Run Penalty as Karachi Kings Edge Lahore Qalandars in PSL Thriller
By Sadia Khan :
Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi has said he was unaware of any change in the ball’s condition after umpires imposed a five-run penalty during his team’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 match against Karachi Kings at Gaddafi Stadium.
The incident took place just before the final over of Karachi’s chase when on-field umpires inspected the ball and ruled that its condition had been altered. As a result, Lahore were penalised five runs.
The decision significantly changed the match situation, reducing Karachi’s target in the final over from 14 runs to nine.
Karachi Kings’ fast bowler Abbas Afridi then struck consecutive boundaries on the second and third deliveries of the last over, guiding the 2020 champions to a dramatic four-wicket victory.
Shaheen questions decision
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Shaheen said he was unsure about the reason behind the penalty and indicated the matter would be discussed within the team.
“I don’t know about this [ball tampering], and we’ll discuss it,” he said. “There was a five-run penalty, but we can’t say anything right now. We will see.”
The Lahore captain appeared disappointed with the ruling but stopped short of directly criticising the umpires.
Tight, low-scoring contest
Reflecting on the match, Shaheen said his team had performed reasonably well with the bat despite setting a modest target of 129 runs.
“It was a good game. We wanted to fight until the final ball and the team tried,” he said. “In both teams’ batting it was similar. I think our batting was fine, otherwise Karachi would have chased this in 15 overs.”
Karachi’s win also strengthened their record against Lahore in PSL encounters, extending their head-to-head advantage to 15 victories compared with eight for the Qalandars.
‘No mental block’
When asked whether Lahore struggled against Karachi due to a psychological disadvantage, Shaheen dismissed the suggestion.
“There is no mental block,” he said. “My team fought until the last ball, and that’s what I want from them.”
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