Watch: Jason Roy rode out a scintillating opening spell from Shaheen Shah Afridi before taking down Haris Rauf in a thrilling Pakistan Super League passage of play.
Chasing 199 to win, Roy walked out in the first over after Shaheen delivered a pinpoint yorker to trap Abdul Bangalzai lbw. The Lahore Qalandars captain continued to locate the blockhole, and Roy survived several close shaves.
The first legal ball he faced struck him on the pad, with a DRS review revealing the ball had pitched just outside leg-stump. The next over, bowled by Zaman Khan, saw another near miss, with his first ball snaking away and hitting Roy on the pads again. This time, the height saved him, with ball-tracking projecting the delivery would have just clipped the bails.
Shaheen returned to bowl the next over, and cranked things up further, knocking Roy clean off his feet with another yorker. Lahore Qalandars reviewed again, and again the impact was just outside leg stump. The next ball was another yorker, which Roy just squeezed out, and he hobbled a single to close out the over.
When Haris Rauf returned, Roy changed tack. From five off 11 balls, he burst to 24 off 16, three times smashing the speedster over the leg-side for six. Rauf, renowned as one of the fastest bowlers in the world, had no answer, and was yanked from the attack.
Roy continued to score quickly, notching another six in the next over off Zaman, over long-off this time, and looked as if he might anchor the chase, on 48 off 28 after eight overs.
However, Rashid Khan saw him off, a fizzing slider beating Roy for pace and crashing into off-stump. Roy, who has struggled for form in recent months, walked off frustrated, offering a small kick to the uprooted pole and muttering to himself.
Watch the Roy assault on Rauf and the Rashid dismissal below:
Roy stirred it up in Rauf's over 🥵#SabSitarayHumaray l #QGvLQ l #HBLPSL8 @iShaheenAfridi pic.twitter.com/CjwtGHnbWB
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 21, 2023
.@rashidkhan_19 puts an end to the ROYal rumble! #SabSitarayHumaray l #QGvLQ l #HBLPSL8 pic.twitter.com/m6xEo7N1DO
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 21, 2023