Lahore Lions vs. Perth Scorchers, CLT20: Highlights, Scorecard and Report

Perth Scorchers (130/7) defeated Lahore Lions (124/6) by three wickets on Tuesday, ensuring the Pakistani outfit wouldn't qualify for the semi-finals of the 2014 Twenty20 Champions League.

Lahore Lions knew they needed to win big on Tuesday to have any chance of passing Chennai Super Kings' net run rate, and the Pakistani outfit were desperate to bowl first. Perth won the toss and decided otherwise, however.

As shared by Bleacher Report's Freddie Wilde, their day couldn't have gotten off to a much worse start:

Lahore's first four batsmen combined for two runs from 14 balls, as the team were clearly reaching for runs. Taking far too many risks was not a tactic Wilde approved of:

Lions' strength is their bowling, and a solid target would have made things far easier on the squad. Instead, they were forced into playing catch-up before the middle overs had even started.

BATSMEN		RUNS	BALLS	SR	4S	6S
BOWLER	O	R	W	ECON	DOTS
Nasir Jamshed	c Brad Hogg b Joel Paris	1	2	50.00	0	0
Umar Siddiq	b Joel Paris	1	4	25.00	0	0
Mohammad Hafeez	b Mitchell Marsh	0	4	0.00	0	0
Wahab Riaz	c Ashton Agar b Mitchell Marsh	0	4	0.00	0	0
Saad Nasim	NOT OUT	69	55	125.45	7	1
Umar Akmal	c sub (Jason Behrendorff) b Brad Hogg	26	19	136.84	4	0
Muhammad Saeed	b Joel Paris	20	26	76.92	1	1
Asif Raza	NOT OUT	2	6	33.33	0	0
EXTRAS	(w 5)	5
TOTAL	(6 wickets; 20 overs)	124
Joel Paris	4	22	3	5.50	12
Mitchell Marsh	3	12	2	4.00	10
Yasir Arafat	3	27	0	9.00	5
Michael Beer	4	27	0	6.75	8
Brad Hogg	4	24	1	6.00	12
Ashton Agar	2	12	0	6.00	6

Saad Nasim put in an excellent shift with 69 runs from 55 deliveries not out, but he got very little help from his teammates. Umar Akmal and Mohammad Saeed added 26 and 20, respectively, and the target of 125 was far lower than the team would have wanted.

Chennai's magic number for Perth to hit was 78 runs, according to Wilde:

Mitchell Marsh (three overs, 12 runs, two wickets) and Joel Paris (four overs, 22 runs, three wickets) were the top players with ball in hand for the Aussies, who knew all too well 125 runs was far from guaranteed on Bangalore's bowling-friendly pitch.

Lahore got some early help from the umpires, however. In one of the worst called innings of the entire tournament, Craig Simmons was caught on his first delivery after it took the inside edge of the pad. Replays showed no such thing happened.

Things got even worse, this time in favour of Perth. Sam Whiteman was caught but umpire Rod Tucker refused to give as he claimed he hadn't seen it because the bowler was in the way. Replays showed the bowler was close but not in the sight lines, but more importantly, Tucker refused to consult the replay himself.

Wilde kept his opinion simple:

Lahore had no choice but to go after Perth's batsmen early and often, in a desperate attempt to limit the Australians to 78 runs or less. As unlikely a scenario as it was, the depth of Lions' group of bowlers meant it wasn't impossible.

BATSMEN		RUNS	BALLS	SR	4S	6S
BOWLER	O	R	W	ECON	DOTS
Cameron Bancroft	b Mustafa Iqbal	22	18	122.22	3	0
Craig Simmons	c Umar Siddiq b Mohammad Hafeez	0	1	0.00	0	0
Sam Whiteman	c Asif Raza b Aizaz Cheema	0	4	0.00	0	0
Ashton Turner	c Wahab Riaz b Mustafa Iqbal	4	6	66.66	0	0
Hilton Cartwright	st Umar Akmal b Saad Nasim	2	7	28.57	0	0
Ashton Agar	b Mohammad Hafeez	5	8	62.50	1	0
Mitchell Marsh	NOT OUT	63	38	165.78	7	3
Yasir Arafat	run out (Aizaz Cheema)	3	13	23.07	0	0
Brad Hogg	NOT OUT	28	19	147.36	2	2
EXTRAS	(w 3)	3
TOTAL	(7 wickets; 19 overs)	130	TOTAL	(7 wickets; 19 overs)	130	TOTAL
Mohammad Hafeez	4	8	2	2.00	19
Aizaz Cheema	2	18	1	9.00	6
Mustafa Iqbal	3	20	2	6.66	8
Adnan Rasool	3	29	0	9.66	6
Saad Nasim	4	26	1	6.50	10
Wahab Riaz	3	29	0	9.66	8

The early overs looked promising. Cameron Bancroft found some success with 22 runs from 18 balls, but the next five of Scorchers' batsmen only managed a combined 11 runs from 26.

The team's resolve appeared to break after Marsh hit back-to-back fours on the final two deliveries of the 12th over, however. Brad Hogg came in to bat for the first time in the tournament, and he sent Perth past the mark of 78 with a thunderous six that knocked Lahore out of the play-off race.

Suresh Raina thanked the 43-year-old:

Perth were now fixed on winning the match and with Marsh (63 from 38) and Hogg (28 from 19) facing a deflated Lions' squad, the target soon came within reach. Three sixes from the final four deliveries sealed the deal.

Hafeez bowled a fantastic match, surrendering just eight runs and taking two wickets in four overs, but Lions' output in the first innings was too little for the team to have any real chance of making the semi-finals.

He acknowledged as much in his post-match interview with ESPNCricinfo:

"

We were short on the board. We played bad shots, but I feel our spinners brought us back in. Mitchell Marsh played his shots and turned it their way. We didn't play good shots at the top, which put pressure on the boys, but Umar Akmal and Nasim had an exceptional tournament. There was dew towards the end, which made it difficult, but we had the chances and we believe Mitch Marsh made all the difference. We are proud of what we have achieved here.

"

For video highlights visit the tournament's official website, by clicking here.

Chennai Super Kings will play Kings XI Punjab in the second semi-final on Thursday, after the conclusion of the match between Hobart Hurricanes and Kolkata Knight Riders.

It's hardly a surprise to see three IPL sides in the play-offs, and while Hobart have put together a solid tournament so far, they appear unlikely to get past Kolkata and their phenomenal bowling attack led by Sunil Narine.

A repeat of this year's IPL final between Kolkata and Punjab seems very likely, and fans all across the globe will already be giddy with excitement at the prospect of watching these two heavyweights slug it out once more.