Shehzad fifty takes Lions to final

An unbeaten 58 from opener Ahmed Shehzad and 26 from Nasir Jamshed helped Lahore Lions beat Rawalpindi Rams by four wickets in the semi-final of the Super8 T20 Cup. Chasing 101, Shehzad and Jamshed were the only Lions batsmen to get double-figure scores as they made 105 for 6 in 19.1 overs.

Rams chose to bat first at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad and found themselves at 14 for 3 in the fourth over. A 36-run partnership between Mohammad Nawaz and Tayyab Riaz for the fourth wicket took them to 50. After Nawaz fell in the 11th over it was only a 26-run sixth-wicket stand between Sohail Tanvir and Hammad Azam and the 15-run ninth-wicket stand between Jamal Anwar and Samiullah that helped Rams finish on 100 for 8 in 20 overs. Lions' left-arm spinner Mustafa Iqbal and right-arm pacer Aizaz Cheema picked up two wickets each.

Lions found themselves at 8 for 1 as Mohammad Asghar dismissed Kamran Akmal for a golden duck in the second over of the chase. But a 59-run second wicket stand between Jamshed and Shehzad, who struck seven fours for his 57-ball 58, put Lions on course. They seemed to have been pushed on the back foot when they lost 5 wickets for 31 runs but Shehzad remained unbeaten to take them through to Monday's final against Sialkot Stallions.