Twitter Reactions: Ben Dunk's whirlwind 12 sixes enroute 99* propels Lahore Qalandars to a second win in two days

The tide is finally turning to a different direction for Lahore Qalandars, who are beginning to smell something different. They are out of the last position, which is currently being held by the defending champions Quetta Gladiators, as the Qalandars are now dreaming of finishing in the top four for the first time.

The Karachi Kings were invited to bat first on Sunday and they lost Sharjeel Khan early on. Babar Azam was then joined by a supremely confident Alex Hales as the duo piled on the misery for the Qalandars. They stormed away in the powerplay overs before getting a bit cautious once the field was spread out. They added 60 runs for the second wicket before Babar Azam was dismissed.

The Qalandars picked up two quick wickets of Iftikar Ahmed and Cameron Delport, who didn’t stick alongside Alex Hales for long. But the Englishman was untampered by what’s happening around and completed his half-century. Hales seemed like getting close to a hundred, but Chadwick Walton’s sensational cameo prevented that from happening.

However, the team benefitted profusely as Walton smashed 45 in just 20 deliveries to take the Kings to 187 runs for the loss of five wickets in their 20 overs. Maaz Khan picked up two wickets for the Qalandars.

Ben Dunk roars loud yet again

Having missed out on what could’ve been a memorable hundred against Quetta a few days ago, Ben Dunk came even closer on Sunday but fell agonizingly short by a run. However, it was the brutality of the innings that smears all the limelight. Fakhar Zaman was dismissed early on in the innings and despite stitching a decent partnership with Sohail Akhtar, Mohammad Hafeez’s stay in the middle wasn’t fruitful.

After the fall of the second wicket with the scorecard reading 50, Ben Dunk walked in and dealt with the boundaries. He showed no respite at any point for the Kings’ bowlers and tonked the ball over the boundary whenever there was a possibility. He reached a half-century in next to no time and was followed soon by his captain Sohail.

Their partnership was beginning to murder Karachi’s chances and Dunk hit the fifth gear in the final few overs. He finished the game with the 12th six of his innings, which took him to 99 and stranded him there. He scored those runs off just 40 deliveries and Sohail Akhtar remained unbeaten on 68 off 46 deliveries, as the Qalandars registered a much-needed 8-wicket win.

Here’s how Twitter reacted: