KARACHI: Babar Azam’s unbeaten knock of 90 runs helped Karachi Kings to crush the Multan Sultans side with a seven-wicket victory with seven balls remaining.
Chasing the massive total of 195 runs, Karachi Kings were off to a flying start as opener Sharjeel Khan scored a quickfire 27-run knock off just 14 balls to get the chase underway.
However, emerging pacer Shahnawaz Dahani removed Sharjeel in the fourth over for 27. However, the wicket never really hampered the Kings as they chased down the large total, with Azam and Joe Clarke partnering up to put their side in a commanding position. The duo had a partnership of 97 runs.
Shahnawaz Dhani managed to remove Clarke, caught by fielder Chris Lynn, after the batsman had raced to 54 runs off 26 balls. Batsman Colin Ingram could not get going and was removed swiftly by pacer Sohail Khan after scoring just six runs off five balls.
Babar Azam, who unleashed his incredible stroke-making skills in pursuit of a match-winning and unbeaten 90-run knock off just 60 balls that guided his side to an emphatic victory.
Earlier, Multan Sultans had managed 195 runs against Karachi Kings. Multan’s skipper Mohammad Rizwan continued his form with the bat, and an early partnership with Chris Lynn and James Vince put his team in a fighting position.
At one point, Multan were set to give a target of more than 200 to the home team. However, wickets fell regularly after the 10th over and kept the Sultans in check.
For Karachi, Arshad Iqbal stood out among the bowlers with his two wickets. Skipper Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Waqas Maqsood and Daniel Christian picked a wicket each.
