KARACHI: Karachi Kings won the first match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) sixth-edition against Quetta Gladiators at Karachi’s National Stadium.
Captain of Pakistan’s national squad and Karachi Kings’ opener Babar Azam has become the highest run-scorer in the history of the Pakistan Super League.
The Kings made quick work of the 122-run target set by the Gladiators with Joe Clarke scoring 46 runs off 23 balls before being dismissed in the sixth over.
The Gladiators had managed to score 121 runs in 19.2 overs. The Kings started off strong by dismissing both Sarfaraz Ahmed and Tom Banton early in the game.
Saim Ayub, who made his T20 debut, fell in the eighth over, adding an equal number of runs to the scoreboard. Chris Gayle, dubbed the “T20 superstar”, met his downfall in the ninth over. Gayle scored 39 runs.
Meanwhile, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar congratulated the defending champions. “By the way, the captain of the Karachi Kings is a young man from Islamabad,” he tweeted.
کراچی کنگز @KarachiKingsARY کو اپنے ٹائٹل کا کامیاب دفاع شروع کرنے پر مبارکباد. ویسے کراچی کنگز کا کپتان اسلام آباد کا نوجوان ہے ????
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) February 20, 2021
Earlier, the Kings had won the toss and opted to field first.
Teams
Karachi Kings: Babar Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Colin Ingram, Joe Clarke (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Dan Christian, Imad Wasim (capt) Aamer Yamin, Waqas Maqsood, Mohammad Amir, Arshad Iqbal
Quetta Gladiators: Chris Gayle, Tom Banton, Azam Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt &wk(), Saim Ayub, Ben Cutting, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Hasnain, Qais Ahmed, Naseem Shah, Usman Shinwari.
????⚡#HBLPSL6 #MatchDikhao #KKvsQGpic.twitter.com/7R2unTH7ix
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) February 20, 2021