The stakes will be high as Lahore Lions take on Perth Scorchers in their final Group A today at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
With the group stage coming to a close, things are getting tight and for Chennai Super Kings, the other team in Group A fighting for a semi-final spot, this match will be equally crucial because if Lahore manage to register a considerable win in Bangalore, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side will be knocked out.
But for that to happen, Lahore need to either win by more than 50 runs or by the 15th over, if they are chasing. And what could help their cause is the fact that Perth are already out of contention.
Lions have already experienced the pressure of playing in such a situation.
In the qualifying stage of the Champions League T20, Lahore had to win their final game and on that occasion, they thrashed Northern Express by 55 runs to progress.
Lahore have seen some strong batting performances from Umar Akmal (163 runs from five innings) and Saad Nasim (138 runs from five outings) while their bowling has been ably handled by pacers Aizaz Cheema (10 wickets) and Wahab Riaz (six scalps).
Captain Mohammad Hafeez has added 107 runs and picked up four wickets from five games but was last week reported for a suspect bowling action and Lahore will be hoping it doesn’t affect his confidence.