Rawalakot Hawks thrashed Mirpur Royals by 43 runs in the opening match of the inaugural Kashmir Premier League (KPL).

The Royals captain Shoaib Malik sent Hawks to bat first after winning the toss in Muzaffarabad on Friday.

Opening batsman Ahmed Shehzad played a magnificent innings of 69 runs of 42 balls with the help of seven boundaries and four maximums.

Bismillah Khan, who was named the player-of-the-match, scored 59 off 34 balls which contributed in setting a mammoth total of 194 in their allotted 20 overs.

Amad Butt was the most successful bowler for Mirpur as he bagged three wickets and just gave away 20 runs in his four overs spell.

In reply, the Royals never really got going and managed to score 151 for the loss of eight wickets in their allotted 20 overs.

Captain Malik was the only batsman to show resistance from the losing side after managing to score 74 off 50 balls.

For the winning team, young pacer Zaman Khan and spin duo of Shahid Afridi, Asif Afridi bagged two wickets each.