Lahore Lions knocked out

But the calm and cool Mitchell Marsh, leading the Scorchers in place of the regular Adam Voges, braved the Lions’ charge, taking them past psychological 78-barrier to deflate Mohammad Hafeez’s men’s hopes, leaving Saad Nasim, who batted his heart out with an undefeated half-century in their resurrection, heart-broken in particular.

Marsh (63, 38b, 7x4, 3x6) then took it upon himself with some controlled hitting to thwart the Lions’ hopes as he powered the Scorchers to 130 for six with two overs to spare.

In the event, CSK went through to the semis to set up a semifinal clash with Kings XI on Thursday while Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Hobart Hurricanes in the first semis.

In the afternoon, the biggest disadvantage for the Lions transpired at the toss as Marsh called correctly and sent the opposition in. Chasing a set target in 14.3 overs would have probably worked in the Lions’ favour if they were to advance on a better run rate but it was not to be as they slipped inexorably down the slope at 11 for four in just the fourth over.

A 45-minute rain interruption two deliveries into their innings caught the Lions’ batsmen unawares, but the Pakistan team fought back through their all-rounder Nasim.

The 24-year-old, who has had a good run in the tournament, was the sole reason that Lions managed to move past the 100-mark which at one stage looked remote. Lifting his team out of the doldrums, Nasim firstly added a brisk 43 (37b) with Umar Akmal (26, 19b) for the fifth wicket before adding 48 for the sixth with Mohammad Saeed (20, 26b).

The two partnerships guided them out of the deep mire as they added 64 between the 5th and 15th overs but they could only manage 36 off the last five. The bulk of the runs came from Nasim’s bat, but for Lions, defending the total was always going to prove difficult despite the turn that the wicket offered.

To their credit, the Lions gave the Scorchers a fright of their lives, reducing them to 40 for six in the 9th over and as luck would have it, the widely-travelled former Pakistan player Yasir Arafat blew away the hopes of his countrymen adding 22 for the seventh with his skipper.

Arafat’s contribution was just three but Marsh swung his bat around to take them past 78 before freeing his arms around to help himself to a half-century. With the fight having gone out of them, the Lions just went through the motions as Marsh and Brad Hogg added an unconquered 68 for the eighth to fetch them their second victory while condemning Lions to their second defeat and in the process propel the Super Kings into the semis.