ABU DHABI: Karachi Kings today (Saturday) qualified for play-offs after beating Quetta Gladiators by 14 runs in match number 29 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Cricket stadium.
The Kings’ victory means that Lahore Qalandars have crashed out of the tournament and will join last-placed Gladiators on the sidelines.
Chasing a target of 177 runs, Saim Ayub gave an ideal start to the innings as he dispatched Imad Wasim for two sixes before hitting Amir for a boundary straight down the ground.
However, Saim’s 19-run knock came to an end as he edged a delivery from Mohammad Ilyas to the wicketkeeper. Arshad Iqbal picked up the second wicket for the Kings in the eighth over as he bowled Jake Weatherald (25),
Usman Khan and Sarfaraz Ahmed kept rotating the strike till the 10th over to keep Quetta on track for the chase. However, Ilyas returned in the 11th over to induce a false shot from Usman.
After taking his time in the first 10 deliveries, Azam smashed Arshad Iqbal for a six. However, Iqbal got his revenge on the next ball as Azam was caught at third man while trying to go for another maximum.
With 59 runs needed in 24 balls, Hasan was run out in an unfortunate way to bring an end to his 24-run inning from 15 balls. Sarfaraz Ahmed’s unbeaten 51-run knock wasn’t enough to take Gladiators over the line.
Earlier, all-rounder Danish Ali proved to be a crucial player for the Karachi Kings, as he scored 45 from 13 balls, which had paved the way for his team to set a target of 177 for Quetta Gladiators.
The side started losing wickets after the 10th over. However, after Ali came in, the wickets stopped falling and the all-rounder helped the team put up a competitive score.
Abdul Nasir was able to get the first breakthrough for the Gladiators in the first ball of the 10th over, dismissing the Kings’ star batsman Babar Azam (23) with a good catch by Hassan Khan.
Following Nasir’s breakthrough, spinner Arish Ali was able to take two wickets — Sharjeel Khan (45) and Martin Guptill (5) — in the 11th over, while he got two others, Najibullah Zadran (12) and Imad Wasim (3), in the 15th and 17th overs, respectively.
In the 20th over, Khurram Shahzad bowled Ali — the batsman who changed the course of the match despite being under immense pressure. Moreover, Mohammad Ilyas (1) was run out on the last ball of the over.
