Karachi Kings clinch victory against Lahore Qalandars by 3 wickets in the 26th match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9 at the National Stadium, Karachi.
Shan Masood won the toss and elected to field first.
Lahore Qalandars experimented with a new opening pair with Fakhar Zaman and Tahir Baig taking the crease, while Shoaib Malik opened the bowling. Anwar Ali over-claimed the first wicket for Lahore Qalandars, and Tahir was dismissed for 4.
Fakhar Zaman’s aggressive batting in Blessing Muzarabani’s over pushed Lahore Qalandars to 44-1 at the end of the powerplay, with Fakhar unbeaten at 34.
Abdullah Shafique joined Fakhar in building a partnership until Fakhar was dismissed for 54 by a direct hit from Irfan Khan Niazi. Zahid Mehmood’s double-wicket over further hindered Lahore Qalandars’ progress.
Abdullah Shafique reached his half-century in the 16th over but was dismissed soon after for 55. Some late hitting from Sikandar Raza and David Wiese propelled Lahore Qalandars to 177-5 in 20 overs.
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Zahid Mehmood was the pick of the bowlers with 2 wickets for 27 runs, while Hasan Ali remained wicket-less despite being economical.
Karachi Kings’ chase started with James Vince and Tim Seifert opening the innings. Vince played aggressively until his dismissal in the 7th over by debutant Tayyab Abbas.
Karachi Kings reached 83-1 at the halfway mark, with Vince contributing significantly. Shan Masood and Kieron Pollard fell quickly, but a partnership between Irfan Khan Niazi and Shoaib Malik kept Karachi Kings in the game.
The match came down to the wire with Karachi Kings needing runs off the last over. Shoaib Malik’s boundary off the final ball secured victory for Karachi Kings.
Debutant Tayyab Abbas impressed with the ball, taking crucial James Vince and Kieron Pollard wickets. Sikandar Raza also bowled economically, conceding 23 runs in his four overs.
Irfan Khan Niazi was named the Player of the Match for his match-winning cameo with the bat, scoring 35 runs at a strike rate of over 200.
