LAHORE: Muhammad Wasim’s brilliant performance helped Karachi Kings beat defending champions Lahore Qalandars by four wickets in the high-octane sixth match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Sunday.
Chasing the 129-run target on a tricky surface, the 2020 champions rattled off the winning runs with six wickets and three balls to spare.
Kings lost by Shaheen Shah Afridi’s bowling by 10 runs as they lost captain David Warner (eight) and top-order batsman Salman Ali Agha (zero) in the third over bowled by Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Seasoned opener Muhammad Wasim then took control of the Kings series, sharing two crucial partnerships with youngster Saad Baig (19) and Moeen Ali before finally succumbing to Shaheen in the 15th over.
Wasim top scored for Kings with 38 off 37 balls with 3 fours and a six.
Shaheen struck again in the same over, dismissing the in-form Moeen who managed to amass 18 runs as the Kings slumped to 88/5.
Khushdil Shah and Azam Khan added 32 runs for the sixth wicket, which required 14 runs off the final over.
However, the start of the final over was delayed as the on-field umpires inspected the ball and deemed it to have changed position, resulting in a five-run penalty to fielding side Callanders, meaning Kings needed just 9 runs from the final over.
Harris Raub, who bowled the last over, got Kushtil (13) off the first ball and got off to a good start with Sikandar Raza caught in the deep.
But Kushtil’s dismissal was a blessing in disguise for the Kings as it brought Abbas Afridi on strike and right-handed batsman Rauf hit a four and a six off the first two balls he faced to lead his side to a stunning win.
Captain Shaheen conceded only 18 runs in 4 overs and took 4 wickets as the bowlers in Kulanders team.
Kulanders skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi’s decision to bat first backfired as the holders managed to post 128/9 in 20 overs.
The home side got off to a shaky start to their innings as Moeen Ali’s in-form opener Faqar Zaman (one) was stumped for 3 runs in the first over.
Following an early setback, Abdullah Shafiq joined opener Mohammad Naeem (13) and the duo could put on 25 for the second wicket before Mir Hamza was caught off the ball in the fourth over.
Shafiq then put on a brief 28-run partnership for the third wicket with Pervez Hossain Emon, both of whom were dismissed in subsequent overs, resulting in Qalandars slumping to 62/4.
Shafiq scored 33 runs off 24 balls with the help of 4 fours and a six, while Emon scored 12 off one ball.
Wicketkeeper batsman Hasibullah Khan and all-rounder Sikandar Raza (19) stitched a 43-run partnership for the fifth wicket to rescue Gilanders, which ended up falling in the hands of Abbas Afridi in the 15th over.
Gulanders then lost two more wickets of captain Shaheen and Usama Mir to be 119/7 in 17.1 overs.
Hazeebullah, on the other hand, fell victim to Hasan Ali in the next over and returned with a cautious 28 off 30 balls with a six and a four.
His dismissal exposed the Qalanders’ batting wall, who could only concede 3 runs off Mir Hamza in the last over.
For Kings, Jamba, Hamza and Moeen took 2 wickets each and Hasan Ali, Salman Ali Agha and Abbas took one wicket each.