Karachi Kings Sunday beat Lahore Qalandars to claim its maiden victory in the ongoing Pakistan Super League’s eighth match at the National Bank Cricket Stadium in Karachi.
In response to Karachi’s 186-run target, Lahore was skittled out to just 118 runs in the 18th over.
Chasing a sizeable total, Lahore started aggressively with young Mirza Baig scoring most of the runs and Fakhar Zaman being his silent partner.
The pair had added 40 runs when Aamer Yamin clean-bowled Fakhar Zaman for 15. Mohammad Aamir struck shortly after and removed Shae Hope for just one run.
Baig and Karman Ghulam (23) rebuilt the innings but could not keep up with the asking rate. As the scoreboard pressure mounted, Lahore once again lost the wickets in a cluster, as Kamran Ghulam, Mirza Baig (45), and Hussain Talat (2) returned to the dugout within a span of five runs.
Sikandar Reza (18) tried a few big shots down the order, but in vain, as the visiting side was bundled out to 118 runs in 17.3 overs, handing Karachi their first win in four games this season.
Akif Javed, who was playing his first game for Karachi Kings, was the star of the night with match-winning figures of 4/24 in 3.3 overs.
Earlier, James Vince (45), Matthew Wade (36), and Imad Wasim (35*) helped Karachi Kings 186-run target for Lahore Qalandars.
Vince and Wade set the tone with a 70-run stand for the opening wicket. They lost Vince, Wade, Haider (18), and Shoaib Malik (10) in quick succession, but skipper Imad Wasim and Ben Cutting’s small cameo at the end, helped Karachi post their biggest total this season.
Shaheen Afridi, Zaman Khan, Liam Dawson, and Haris Rauf bagged one wicket each.
