Quetta Gladiators have triumphed over Karachi Kings by six runs in the sixth match of the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) played on Saturday at the National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi.
Set to chase 169, the Kings fell just six short of glory as they finished at 162/5 despite a valiant 71-run knock by experienced Shoaib Malik.
Put into bat first, the Gladiators managed to post a decent 168/7 in the allotted 20 overs at the back of a scintillating century by their opener Guptill.
Batting first, the visitors got off to a poor start as Kings captain Imad Wasim ran through their top order by picking up three quick wickets including in the first over.
Gladiators’ captain Sarfaraz Ahmed attempted to script recovery amid his brief partnership with Guptill but failed as he fell victim to Aamer Yamin on the first delivery after the power-play and could score a mere five off 11.
With the side in heaps of trouble at 23/4, Guptill joined hands with in-form Iftikhar Ahmed and anchored the innings with a gritty 69-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Kings’ experienced pacer Mohammad Amir then ceased the budding partnership in the 15th over as he deceived Iftikhar Ahmed with a short-pitch delivery. The right-handed batter scored 32 off 27 deliveries, hitting three boundaries.
Following Iftikhar’s dismissal, Guptill launched a counter-attack on the Kings’ bowlers and powered his side to a competitive total with little to no help from the other end before perishing on the final delivery off Yamin.
Guptill top-scored with 117 off just 67 balls, laced with 12 boundaries and five sixes while Iftikhar (32) remained the only other notable run-getter for the Gladiators.
The rest of the Gladiators’ batters seemed hapless against the Kings’ bowlers as they could not amass the double figures.
Skipper Imad led the bowling attack for the Kings with 3/16, followed by Yamin’s 3/37 while Amir made one scalp.
