LAHORE: Peshawar Zalmi pacer Ali Raza on Wednesday etched his name in Pakistan Super League (PSL) history by becoming one of the select bowlers to take a hat-trick as Karachi Kings registered a match-winning sum in the 11th edition at the Gaddafi Stadium.
Raza returned impressive figures of 4/41 in his four-over spell and took a sensational hat-trick in the penultimate over of the innings, dismissing Khushdil Shah, Shahid Aziz and Hasan Ali in successive balls.
With this feat, he also became the youngest bowler to take a PSL hat-trick and the first player to reach the first milestone in Peshawar Zalmi.
Overall, he is the seventh bowler and fifth fastest bowler in PSL history to take a hat-trick.
This milestone was first achieved by Mohammad Amir for Karachi Kings in the inaugural edition against Lahore Qalandars.
Other fast bowlers in the list include Junaid Khan, Mohammad Sami and Abbas Afridi, while spinners Imran Tahir and Aqeel Hossain feature.
List of PSL hat-trick takers:
- Mohammad Amir (Karachi Kings vs Lahore Qalandars, 2016)
- Junaid Khan (Multan Sultans vs Lahore Qalandars, 2018)
- Imran Tahir (Multan Sultans vs Quetta Gladiators, 2018)
- Mohammad Sami (Islamabad United vs Karachi Kings, 2019)
- Abbas Afridi (Multan Sultans vs Lahore Qalandars, 2023)
- Akhil Hossain (Quetta Gladiators vs Peshawar Zalmi, 2024)
- Ali Raza (Peshawar Zalmi vs Karachi Kings, 2026)
Earlier, strong contributions from Jason Roy and Azam Khan saw Karachi Kings score 182 for 9 in 20 overs.
Openers David Warner and Jason Roy gave Karachi a steady start, with Ali Raza adding 35 runs to break the partnership with Warner’s 11 off 13 balls.
Salman Ali Agha combined with Roy to add useful runs, but Karachi slipped to 71 for 2 when Aaron Hardy dismissed Ali Agha for 12 off 9 balls.
Roy picked up his ninth PSL half-century and formed another key partnership with Reza Hendricks. However, Sufyan dismissed Mukeem Hendricks for 13 as Karachi posted 98 for 3.
Azam Khan drove the momentum with an aggressive stroke play, sharing a quick 63 with Roy as Karachi passed 150. Assam scored 35 off 19 balls and was dismissed by Iftikhar Ahmed.
Roy eventually fell to a magnificent 85 off 51 balls with 11 fours and 2 sixes before Mohammad Basit took his wicket in the final overs.
Despite Ali Raza’s historic spell stealing the limelight, Karachi ended the innings on 182-9 after a strong finish.