MATCH REPORT
Follow UsIslamabad United make it two wins in two in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021, handing Karachi Kings a five-wicket loss in Match 6 of the tournament at the National Stadium, Karachi. United successfully chased down 197, which is the highest in their history and the fourth highest in the PSL. All six matches this season have witnessed teams chasing cross the finish line.
United did not get off to the best of starts, as they lost Philip Salt and skipper Shadab Khan for ducks in the first two overs of the chase. However, that did not deter Alex Hales from smashing the ball around, collecting 29 from the third over bowled by Aamer Yamin – which is the most expensive in the tournament’s history. He found a good partner in Faheem Ashraf, who too kept the scoreboard ticking.
Left-arm pacer Waqas Maqsood got the much-needed breakthrough, when he removed Hales, caught at mid-off for 46 off just 21 deliveries, bringing an end to a partnership worth 62 off 27. But United had reached 77 for 3 in six overs and considering that they bat quite deep, they had a great chance of pulling this off.
Iftikhar Ahmed and Hussain Talat came together after Ashraf was dismissed for 25 in the seventh over. Another wicket after that could have been disastrous for United, but Iftikhar and Talat played sensibly and built on the platform that was already laid. They had 110 runs on the board at the end of 10 overs and the plan would have been for at least one of them to bat through.
Once Mohammad Nabi was introduced into the attack, it became more and more difficult for the batsmen to score as the ball had begun to grip. Even Imad Wasim, who is not known to be a huge turner of the ball was getting purchase. Nabi’s first three overs yielded just 12 runs, but 14 came of his final over, which also included the wicket of Talat for 42 off 31.
Asif Ali smacked a six off Nabi as soon as he came in to reduce the equation to 14 off the last two overs. Asif needed just seven more balls to seal the game, finishing unbeaten on 20 off eight, while Iftikhar scored 49 not out off 37 to help United pull off a memorable chase.
Earlier, Karachi Kings did not get off to the best of starts, managing just 33 runs in the powerplay. But in the next phase, Sharjeel Khan, who managed to score just six runs off 17 deliveries in the first six over of the innings, first struck Mohammad Wasim for a couple of boundaries and followed that up by hitting Shadab Khan, for four sixes in a row to break the shackles. Between overs seven and 10, Kings had scored 51 runs without losing a single wicket to bring the game back in balance.
Sharjeel kept going berserk and Babar Azam was more than happy playing second fiddle. Sharjeel was given a couple of lives – first when Hales dropped a sitter in the deep and then again when he was caught off a no-ball. Sharjeel rode on his luck to bring up his second PSL century off just 55 deliveries. After going wicketless for 18 overs, United got two wickets in two balls in the penultimate over of the innings. First, it was Babar who was run-out for 62 off 54. His 176-run stand is also the highest partnership for any wicket in the PSL.
Sharjeel’s luck finally ended when he was trapped in front by Hasan Ali for 105 off 59, which included nine fours and eight sixes. Eventually, Kings finished on a formidable 196 for 3.
Karachi next play Multan Sultans on Saturday (February 27), while Islamabad take on Peshawar Zalmi on the same day – in Karachi.
Brief scores:
Karachi Kings 196 for 3 in 20 overs (Sharjeel Khan 105, Babar Azam 62; Hussain Talat 1 for 25) lost to Islamabad United 197 for 5 in 19.1 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 49*, Alex Hales 46; Waqas Maqsood 1 for 22) by 5 wickets.
Player of the match: Alex Hales