Sports Desk
KARACHI: Karachi Kings Sunday defeated Lahore Qalandars to claim its maiden victory in the ongoing Pakistan Super League’s eighth match at the National Bank Cricket Stadium in Karachi.
Skipper Imad Wasim’s last over followed by the two dismissals by Akif Javed gave Kings the much-needed control against Qalandars. The Kings side received two early breakthroughs by Aamer Yamin and Mohammad Amir, as Tahir Baig and Kamran Ghulam led the run-chase. Being added in the Kings’ squad as a replacement for an injured Mir Hamza, young bowler Akif Javed sent the two batters back to the dressing room by striking twice in his third over.
After that, Imad added to the defending champions miseries as he tricked Hussain Talat with a spinning delivery, which the all-rounder missed and Matthew Wade was quick to tumble the stumps.
Aamer struck again as he got the wicket of the dangerous batter David Wiese, who left the field after scoring only nine runs.
Lahore Qalandars kept losing wickets as Ben Cutting claimed two wickets in his first over bowled at a crucial time. The all-rounder took the wickets of skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sikandar Raza.
The Qalandars made a good start as Fakhar Zaman and Tahir started the run-chase with a great approach, hitting boundaries on numerous occasions.
However, the home side found the breakthrough as Aamer toppled Fakhar’s stumps with a good length delivery after the left-handed batter scored 15 runs off 12 balls.
In the next over, Amir claimed the crucial wicket of Shai Hope, who had to walk back after scoring only one run.
A brilliant catch from Irfan Niazi was the reason for Hope’s departure.
Earlier, Karachi Kings handed Lahore Qalandars a target of 186 runs.
After James Vince’s 46-run knock, skipper Imad and Cutting put on a 50-run partnership to help their side post a competitive total against the defending champions.
However, Cutting (20) was bowled out by Shaheen Shah Afridi, who delivered a fiery delivery to topple the stumps.
The home side’s skipper, Imad, scored a crucial 35 runs off 19 balls.
Before the two all-rounders’ partnership, the Qalandars took three quick wickets to make a comeback against the Kings.
Vince and Matthew Wade, promoted to open, stitched a 69-run partnership for the first wicket to put their side in control.
However, the Australian batter was sent packing after scoring 36 runs following a run-out.
Haider Ali was the next batter to take the crease, but his stay was brief as Liam Dawson bowled him out after he gathered 18 runs.
Despite losing Wade and Haider, the home side were in a good spot, but Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan struck to help their side turn things around.
Rauf sent veteran batter Shoaib Malik (10) back to the pavilion, while Zaman toppled Vince’s wickets to reduce them to 124-4.
The England batter scored 46 runs off 36 balls, including three boundaries and two maximums.
For Lahore Qalandars, skipper Shaheen, Zaman, Haris and Dawson claimed a wicket each.
Earlier, Lahore Qalandars won the toss and opted to bowl first against Karachi Kings.
Meanwhile, Multan Sultans Sunday defeated Islamabad United by 52 runs after the latter struggled to chase 191-run target in the seventh match of the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) eighth edition at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
Sultans’ skipper Mohammad Rizwan was glad after his team’s efforts landed them the victory against United. With their only defeat against Qalandars in the league’s first match, the host team stands on top of the points table.
“Very happy! It’s a very collective effort right from each team member and also the support staff. It’s really good to see each and every one contributing. We’re having different heroes for different games in both batting and bowling. The team is ticking all the boxes and that’s showing in the results,” Rizwan said in the post-match presentation.
Meanwhile, the winning side’s pacer Abbas Afridi’s impressive four-wicket haul in three overs and just 22 runs fetched him the ‘Player of the Match’ title.
“Management and the bowling coach have helped me a lot. Fortunately, things are working for me. The plan from the coaches and captain was to mix up the lengths/pace, and keep it simple,” said Afridi.
Meanwhile, Islamabad captain Shadab Khan defended his decisions regarding bowling first and playing spinner Abrar Ahmed instead of batter Asif Ali.
“Don’t think so [that opting to bowl was a wrong decision]. We had confidence in our chasing abilities and we still believe it was the right call. 190 was gettable but we just couldn’t,” Shadab said.
“I’m not bowling well as I’m returning from injury so I wanted a sixth bowling option. Had to play Abrar as I wasn’t fit enough to bowl a full spell and in a day game, the extra spinner does help. We have no doubt about Asif bhai; he’s our match-winner and we told him this was just for one game.
“We’re waiting for the home games. Sometimes such losses are a blessing in disguise early on in the tournament. We’ll bounce back.”
Chasing a target of 191 runs, Islamabad were all out for 138 in 17.5 overs.
Islamabad, who at one stage were 112-4, lost their last six wickets for just 26 runs.
Earlier, the home side posted 190-4 in their allotted 20 overs, with the help of fifties by David Miller and Mohammad Rizwan.
Miller scored 52 runs in 25 balls, laced with three fours and four maximums, to provide his side with some quick runs at the backend of the innings. During his impressive knock, the South African also smacked Islamabad captain Shadab Khan for three sixes in a row.
