Summary Karachi Kings chased the 124 runs target in 15 overs to reach the playoffs
DUBAI (Dunya News) – Karachi Kings defeated Islamabad United by 6 wickets in last group stage game to reach play-offs round of Pakistan Super League (PSL), reported Dunya News.
Karachi s win also knocked Lahore Qalandars out of the PSL before the playoffs stage for the second edition in a row. Kumar Sangakkara won the crucial toss and he elected to bowl first on a wet DSC track. For Karachi, Chris Gayle came in the squad as a replacement for Mahela Jayawardene and Ajmal had been replaced for Rafatullah and Ben Duckett.
Karachi Kings Innings
Overs 14.5 I Score 127/4 I Kieron Pollard 20*, Ravi Bopara 11*
Shadab Khan kept his amazing form going and dismissed Shoaib Malik and Babar Azam in the same over to bring Islamabad United back in the match. Islamabad United were also fighting hard to win it as they wanted to top the group stage.
But experienced Kieron Pollard and Ravi Bopara made sure that Karachi kept the momentum going and won their fourth match of the tournament to have some edge over Islamabad United, before the eliminator game between them. Pollard hit a four as winning shot to take his team over the finishing line.
Overs 10 I Score 90/2 I Shoaib Malik *5 , Babar Azam 27*
Chris Gayle finally showed the impressive form that he is famous for and hit Saeed Ajmal for three very huge sixes in a row. But Saeed Ajmal got his man off the last ball of the over. Gayle scored his personal highest score of the tournament, 44 runs.
Karachi s captain Kumara Sangakkara also hit two boundaries before getting getting dismissed by Shadab Khan. Islamabad s Shadab Khan was in great form as he bowled very well like he had done earlier in the tournament.
Overs 5 I Score 45/0 I CH Gayle 26*, Babar Azam 17*
While chasing the target of 124 in the allotted fifteen overs, Karachi Kings opted to start with Babar Azam and Chris Gayle. Babar Azam has truly shown his class in the PSL so far and he took the charge in the first over and played glorious shots while fetching two boundaries in the first over.
Meanwhile, a leading edge of the Gayle slipped between the slip and the keeper for four more. A total of fourteen runs came of the first over.
Sami bowled a good second over and conceded just 5 runs. Meanwhile, Irfan also came strongly in his second over as he conceded just three runs in his second over. Rumman came in to ball the fourth over and conceded just 5 runs in the over.
Chris Gayle took the charge in the fifth over as he thumped Irfan for two huge sixes in a row. Gayle played another one straight as the fielder saved a certain boundary. A total of 18 runs came of the fifth over from Irfan.
Islamabad United Innings
Overs 15 I Score 123/7 I Muhammad Sami 0*, Muhammad Irfan 0*
It was in the eleventh over of Usama Mir when both the batsmen on the crease i.e. Brad Haddin and Dwayne Smith decided to take the charge. First, it was Smith who pummeled one away over long-on for a huge six and then it was Smith in the second last ball, who lofted the leggie for huge six over long-off. A total of 18 runs came in Usama’s over.
Usman Khan bowled the next over and went away for eight runs as Haddin and Smith were eyeing for a big total on the board. Muhammad Amir came into ball in the thirteenth over as a full-toss on the second ball took a leading edge and the ball ran away to the third man boundary for four more. Amir conceded eight runs in the over.
Usman came to bowl his last and penultimate over of the innings and turn the tables as he removed both the set batsmen of two consecutive balls. However, the credit goes to Pollard as he grabbed two god catches at the edge of the boundary line as the second one steals the show for tonight.
The skipper took the charge immediately as he came to the crease and thumped Usman for a huge six over deep square leg. Apart from taking two wickets, Usman went for 11 runs in the penultimate over.
The last over was bowled by Amir who mixes it up really brilliantly in the depth overs. The promising talent Shadab managed to pull the bouncer away for a maximum however was caught by Shoaib Malik just over the boundary on the very next ball.
The skipper also handed over a catch to Gayle on the last ball of the last over. Islamabad set a target of 124 for Karachi Kings in the allotted 15 overs.
Overs 10 I Score 67/3 I DR Smith 36*, Brad Haddin 1*
Imad came in to bowl the sixth over and bowled brilliantly as he scored just 3 runs in the over. The skipper opted to bring the spinner from other side as well as the promising Usama Mir came into ball and went for six runs in the over.
The skipper opted to pursue with Imad as he was brought in to bowl the eight over. Smith pulled one away on away of the second last ball the over for four more. Imad fielded brilliantly off the last ball of his over as he managed to get Hussain Talat run out as he threw the ball towards the keeper who made no mistake in dislodging the bails on time.
For Karachi, the spinners were doing the track as they halted the flow of runs. Usama Mir bowled another brilliant over while giving just four runs in the ninth over of the innings. Sohail Khan came to bowl his third and last over of the innings and managed to remove the dangerous Watson on the third ball of the over. Watson was caught by Pollard as he tried to clear the long-on boundary. Smith was able to pick the slow ball from Sohail as he lofted it straight over the bowler’s head for four more.
Overs 5 I Score 40/1 I Hussain Talat 2*, DR Smith 22*
In a rain-delayed match between Islamabad and Karachi, the skipper after asking Islamabad to bat first opted to start with Imad Wasim. Smith took the charge in the initial over as he punched one away towards extra cover for a boundary. On the fourth ball, he pumulled the ball once again towards the off-side and fetched four runs in the process of doing so.
Smith also tried to attack Amir as he scored a boundary of his first ball however the left arm pacer came back strongly in the over while conceding just 2 runs of the next five balls. Sohail Khan came to bowl in the third over as he also went away for seven runs while a conceding boundary.
Usman Khan almost got the wicket Duckett as the bowl after an inside edge not only missed the stumps but also Sangakkara’s gloves on the way to the fine leg boundary. Usman conceded 7 runs in his over.
As Sohail Khan came into ball in the fifth over, Duckett decided to take the charge as thumped the fast bowler for two consecutive boundaries of the first two balls. The batsman also tried to play a shot towards mid-on however Pollard caught a stunner as Islamabad lost their first wicket. A wicket and eleven runs came of the fifth over from Sohail Khan.
