Fakhar Zaman's latest heroics saw him storm into the top four run-getters of this year's PSL, and that too having been banned for two of the Lahore Qalandars' eight matches this tournament. Meanwhile, Shaheen Shah Afridi has quietly moved on to 14 wickets for the tournament, putting him second in the wicket-takers list behind the outstanding Sufiyan Muqeem.
But despite possessing such talents, performing pretty much at the peak of their abilities, Qalandars have made tough work of their playoff pursuit, losing three on the trot before bouncing back with their first set of consecutive victories this season. And the reason for this inconsistency was laid bare during their nine-run win over Quetta Gladiators on Tuesday.
The numbers alone tell a story: Fakhar 103, the rest 80. And in terms of strike rate, none came close to Fakhar's 201.96, the next best being Daniel Sams' 150 during a 12-ball 18 and Charith Asalanka's 129.16. On a pitch where 200 looked like it might have been close to par, they most certainly left runs in the middle. In fact, had it not been for some exemplary seam bowling at the death, Fakhar's century might have been a footnote in a losing cause.
As it transpired, his ton - his third in PSL history - was as pivotal as ever. When Fakhar clicks, Qalandars look invincible; when he doesn't, or when he was missing due to his two-match ban for ball-tampering, the team has looked rudderless, often collapsing for sub-140 totals. His 282 tournament runs account for nearly 35% of the team's total.
But while being a one-man team is rarely optimal, for Qalandars their best bet of success this season might just be in leaning into it and platforming Fakhar to perform as he did on Tuesday and against Rawalpindiz on Saturday. But to do that, there needs to be clarity - first and foremost in their opening pair.
Qalandars' lack of a settled opening pair has forced Fakhar to oscillate between an anchor and an aggressor. While the likes of Peshawar Zalmi have relied on a dominant, record-breaking duo in Kusal Mendis and Babar Azam, Qalandars have rotated through multiple combinations, leaving Fakhar without a consistent partner.
Mohammad Farooq, Abdullah Shafique, and Mohammad Naeem have all partnered Fakhar, while Parvez Hossain Emon deputised impressively for Fakhar before suffering an untimely shoulder injury.
On Tuesday, the gap was undeniable: Farooq and Shafique collectively scratched out 18 runs from 20 balls, while Fakhar blazed 41 runs in that same period. In fairness to Farooq, he showed his ability to take charge during his innings against Rawalpindiz, but having been brought into the side late in the tournament, Qalandars think-tank needs to pick a lane and stick to it. Further chopping and changing is only likely to dull the one weapon they have that is consistently working.
That is Plan A. Plan B is where the concerns deepen, as the statistical drop-off behind Fakhar is staggering. Despite boasting a middle order with names such as Charith Asalanka and Sikandar Raza, there has been little cohesion when Fakhar departs early; in games where he has scored fewer than 30 runs, Qalandars' middle order has averaged a meagre 16.4, often failing to bat out their 20 overs.
Raza, usually a linchpin, has struggled to find his rhythm, averaging just 14.2 this season with a strike rate that has dipped below 120 in three of his last five outings; Asalanka has provided starts, such as his 31 off 24 on Tuesday, but has yet to record a half-century, leaving questions surrounding his reliability in big games; Haseebullah, who showed flashes of high-impact potential with a 40 not out off 28 earlier in the tournament, was surprisingly dropped for the clash with Gladiators despite being one of the few players to strike at over 140 in the death overs; and then there's Abdullah Shafique, who remains the biggest enigma - once a pillar of the top order, he has looked woefully out of form, managing just 68 runs across his last four innings at an anaemic strike rate of 104.
That is all to say, the building blocks for a title-challenging side are there, but currently, Qalandars' survival rests almost entirely on the solitary foundation stone that is Fakhar.