Karachi Kings defeated Lahore Qalandars by 3 wickets in the 26th match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9 at the National Stadium, Karachi.
The toss was won by Shan Masood who selected to field first.
Qalandars tried a new opening pair as Fakhar Zaman and Tahir Baig came out to bat; Shoaib Malik was given the new ball. All-rounder Anwar Ali bowled the third over which resulted in LQ losing their first wicket. New entrant Tahir fell for 4.
Zimbabwe’s Blessing Muzarabani bowled the fourth over which went for 13 runs courtesy Fakhar’s power-hitting. The powerplay ended with LQ posting 44-1; Fakhar set on 34*.
Malik’s third, & inning’s 9th, over went for 15 as Fakhar and Abdullah Shafique began to pack a punch. Fakhar got to his first PSL 9 half-century in the 10th over; LQ stood at 78-1 at the mid-point.
Emerging player, Irfan Khan Niazi, direct hit resulted in Fakhar losing his wicket, 54, in the 11th over. Zahid Mehmood’s double-wicket, in the 15th, over resulted in Shai Hope and Shaheen Shah Afridi losing their wickets while trying to accelerate. LQ progressed to 122-4 after 15 overs.
Abdullah’s half-century came up in the 16th over, while the 17th brought his dismissal. He got out for 55 off Muzarabani. Sikandar Raza and David Wiese hit some lusty blows which propelled Lahore’s total to 177-5 in the 20 overs.
Leg-spinner, Zahid Mehmood, remained the most successful bowler as he recorded figures of 4-0-27-2. Hasan Ali was economical, but wicket-less, as his figures read 4-0-30-0. It was surprising to see Shan not handing the ball to newbie Arafat Minhas.
Kings shuffled their opening pair as James Vince and Tim Seifert came out to open. The new ball was handed to LQ captain Shaheen. LQ left-arm spinner, Ahsan Bhatti, went for 17 in the 2nd over; Vince came ready for the novice.
Carnage continued as Shaheen’s second, & inning’s third, over went for 11. The powerplay ended with KK cruising at 58-0; Vince battering with 42*.
Making his professional cricket debut, Tayyab Abbas took the crucial wicket of Vince in the 7th over. KK captain came to the crease at one-down. At the half-point mark, KK toddled to 83-1, 5 runs ahead of LQ’s mid-innings total.
Shan lost this wicket trying to hit Sikandar’s off-spin out of the ground. KK stood at 99-2. Tayyab’s dream debut continued as he picked the big wicket of West Indian basher, Kieron Pollard. KK stood at 107-3 after 13 overs.
Seifert lost his wicket in a freakish manner, as KK fell to 122-4 after 15 overs. Irfan and Malik built a partnership at the end which cruised Kings towards the total.
The last over saw a flurry of wickets fall, but the drama ended with Malik scoring a boundary off the last ball and winning the match. Emerging player, Irfan Khan Niazi, played a gem when he scored 35 runs at the end with a strike-rate of over 200.
Debutant Tayyab Abbas impressive with his fast-medium bowling. He recorded figures of 3-0-23-2, taking crucial wickets of James Vince and Kieron Pollard. Sikandar Raza’s off-spin proved to be economical as his figures read 4-0-23-1.
Irfan Khan was adjudged as the Player of the Match for his fantastic cameo with the bat.
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