ISLAMABAD: Lahore Qalandars overcame archrivals Karachi Kings to win their first match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022 by six wickets at Karachi’s National Stadium on Sunday.
The high-voltage match between the two PSL giants — favorites among fans due to wild competition between Pakistan’s cultural heart Lahore and the economic backbone Karachi — was watched by hundreds of spectators live.
Kings handed Qalandars an impressive 171-run target after batting first. Qalandars were fraught early on as opening batter Abdullah Shafique and Kamran Ghulam fell for 8 and 6 runs, respectively.
However, left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman saw his team through the difficult phase of the match, scoring a blistering 106 runs off 60 balls. During his innings, Zaman hit 12 fours and four sixes before he was dismissed by Umaid Asif.
Mohammad Hafeez and Samit Patel made valuable contributions by scoring 24 and 26 runs, respectively. Patel saw Qalandars to victory with a boundary.
Umaid Asif took two wickets for Qalandars, while Mohammad Nabi and Imad Wasim dismissed one each.
The recent defeat is a setback for Karachi Kings, who are yet to secure a win in the tournament. The side sits at the bottom of the points table and is the only one in the tournament without a win so far.
Earlier in the Karachi Kings innings, opening batters Sharjeel Khan and skipper Babar Azam gave their side a flying start, making good use of the powerplay to build a 50-run partnership.
Khan scored a quickfire 60 off 39 balls, hitting three sixes and eight fours before he was clean bowled by Mohammad Hafeez.
Babar never looked comfortable at the crease and was bowled once again by Afghan spinner Rashid Khan, who had gotten the better of the Pakistani captain during the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 last year too.
Mohammad Nabi, Aamer Yamin, Lewis Gregory, Sahibzada Farhan and Imad Wasim all failed to score big as Lahore pacer Haris Rauf skittled Kings by taking three quick wickets. Rauf finished with figures of 3/33 from his four overs.
Fakhar Zaman ton powers Lahore Qalandars to victory over Karachi Kings
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Fakhar Zaman ton powers Lahore Qalandars to victory over Karachi Kings
- Lahore defeated Karachi by six wickets in a high-voltage PSL clash
- Karachi sit at the bottom of the points table with no win so far
Pakistan increases Reko Diq investment to $244 million as Barrick reviews project
- State-owned PPL injects $50.2 million more in special purpose vehicle formed to manage Islamabad’s 25 percent stake in copper-gold mine
- Canadian operator Barrick Mining Corporation this month ordered project’s review following deadly separatist attacks in Balochistan province
KARACHI: The state-run Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) has invested an additional Rs14 billion ($50.2 million) equity in the multi-billion-dollar Reko Diq copper-gold mine, the company said in its latest financial report on Thursday, as the project’s Canadian operator reviews the project following recently deadly attacks.
Canada’s Barrick Mining Corporation owns a 50 percent share in Reko Diq in the southwestern Balochistan province, along with three Pakistani federal state-owned enterprises including PPL that own 25 percent, while the Balochistan government has the remaining 25 percent share in the project.
The Canadian company announced earlier this month it planned to “immediately” begin a comprehensive review of all aspects of the Reko Diq project following coordinated attacks in Balochistan on Jan. 30-31 that killed 36 civilians and 22 security forces personnel.
“With respect to the Reko Diq project, the company has made further equity investment in Pakistan Minerals Private Limited (PMPL) during the period amounting to Rs14,025 million ($50.2m),” PPL told its shareholders in its financial statement for the half year ending at Dec. 31.
The additional equity has increased PPL’s total cost of investment in the PMPL to Rs68.1 billion ($243.6 million), it added.
The PMPL is a special purpose vehicle formed to manage the federal government’s 25 percent stake in the Reko Diq project. It is a consortium of three state-owned enterprises (SOEs) namely the PPL, the Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Government Holdings (Private) Limited (GHPL) which is responsible for handling financing, equity contributions and strategic, legal or technical dealings with partners like Barrick.
“The project continued to advance site works during the period (July-December FY26),” the PPL said. “The operator (Barrick) is undertaking a review of all aspects of the project, including with respect to the project’s security arrangements, development timetable and capital budget.”
This week, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti assured investors that Pakistan has the “capacity and capability” to secure the Reko Diq project amid surging militancy.
The PPL explores, drills, and produces oil and natural gas. Its current portfolio, together with its subsidiaries and associates, consists of 47 exploratory blocks that include one offshore Block-5 in Abu Dhabi and one onshore block in Yemen.
In December, PPL signed a strategic Deed of Assignment under which it assigned 25 percent of its participating interest (PI) and operatorship of Eastern Offshore Indus C block to Turkish Petroleum Overseas Company, a unit of state-owned Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortaklığı.
Assigning 20 percent PI each to OGDCL and Mari Energies Limited, the company has retained the remaining 35 percent PI to play a key role in the block’s development.
