RAWALPINDI: On Thursday at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Karachi Kings and Islamabad United faced off in the most significant HBL Pakistan Super League match to date, raising the stakes considerably.
Before the match, the two teams were separated by just one point. United was trying to hold onto the fourth spot in the league stage rankings, which the Kings had their sights set on. Islamabad United was in fourth place.
After their hitters struggled to put 150-7 on the board, they were forced to battle it out on a track that made it easier for the Karachi bowlers to pose questions.
Islamabad adopted a cautious approach despite having a modest target to chase, persevering through brief setbacks to cross the finish line with five wickets remaining.
Following the early loss of their seasoned opening duo of Colin Munro and Alex Hales, Islamabad United was salvaged by captain Shadab Khan and Salman Ali Agha, and were eventually defeated by Haider Ali’s late assault.
Karachi’s chances of qualifying for the playoffs were once again eliminated following their losses against Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi. In the meantime, Islamabad United moved up to the second spot in the rankings.
Islamabad United did not have a great start as Mir Hamza, the pacer, kept posing problems for Hales and Munro with his subtle adjustments in length a
Hales, on the other hand, missed a slower one which went on to dislodge his stumps as United managed 47-2 in the first six overs. Understanding the significance of wickets in the situation and with the surface helping the bowlers, Shadab and Salman batted steadily, mostly going for singles and doubles to take the team to 78-2 at the halfway point. In the 12th over, Salman danced down the ground and lifted Mohammad Nawaz’s left-arm spin over long-on, culminating in a fifty-run partnership with Shadab
For all his poise and maturity, Salman (33 off 30) went for a big, wild shot on the next ball by pacer Blessing Muzarabani, only for it to fly off his outside edge and into the gloves of Tim Seifert behind the wickets. Karachi’s hopes brightened when leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood went on to take a simple return catch to dismiss Azam Khan off his bowling in the 15th over — when Islamabad needed 40 off 34 balls. Things got more complicated for Islamabad United when Hamza returned to swing one across Shadab (34 off 26) to get the right-hander’s gloves and force another caught-behind dismissal.
However, the required equation was reduced to run-a-ball when Faheem Ashraf arrived and misplayed a delivery by Hamza over square leg for a stunning six on the following ball.
Islamabad United mainly relied on running till Haider (26 not out of 16) hit speedster Hasan Ali for a four and a six to end the match in the 19th over.
Earlier put to bat, Karachi got off to a sluggish start and managed just 38 runs in the powerplay, during which Shan was dismissed cheaply off Faheem. After smashing five boundaries for 26 runs with his opening partner Seifert, the pacer went on to dismiss him in the seventh over.
In the ninth over, Shadab Khan made an outstanding catch when Shoaib Malik misplayed a skier off Imad Wasim’s left-arm spin, putting Karachi in even more danger. The second man out was Mohammad Nawaz, the left-hander finding Munro at deep square leg after he was caught by a rising bounder from Tymal Mills.
After Pollard struck first with a smart move for four off Mills, Karachi was trailing 66-4 at the break.
After hitting Shadab over deep midwicket for six in the eleventh over and then again over long off for maximums, the former West Indies all-rounder applied further pressure to Islamabad.
Watching Pollard from the other end, James Vince seemed like growing in confidence when he hit Mills for three consecutive boundaries in the 14th over, only to get caught behind on the fourth ball after adding 29 off 27 to the total.
Vince’s wicket suffocated the flow of runs once again and Pollard (39 off 28) succumbed to the pressure in the 18th over, becoming Hunain Shah’s first wicket. Karachi couldn’t fight back from that point and dragged themselves to what proved to be a paltry total.
Before the match, the two teams were separated by just one point. United was trying to hold onto the fourth spot in the league stage rankings, which the Kings had their sights set on. Islamabad was in fourth place.
After their hitters struggled to put 150-7 on the board, they were forced to battle it out on a track that made it easier for the Karachi bowlers to pose questions.
Islamabad United adopted a cautious approach despite having a modest target to chase, persevering through brief setbacks to cross the finish line with five wickets remaining.
Following the early loss of their seasoned opening duo of Colin Munro and Alex Hales, Islamabad was salvaged by captain Shadab Khan and Salman Ali Agha, and were eventually defeated by Haider Ali’s late assault.
Karachi’s chances of qualifying for the playoffs were once again eliminated following their losses against Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi. In the meantime, Islamabad moved up to the second spot in the rankings.
Islamabad did not have a great start as Mir Hamza, the pacer, kept posing problems for Hales and Munro with his subtle adjustments in length and line. Hamza was able to take advantage of both of the ordinarily deadly power-hitters who were unable to connect for boundaries during the powerplay.
Hales, on the other hand, missed a slower one which went on to dislodge his stumps as United managed 47-2 in the first six overs. Understanding the significance of wickets in the situation and with the surface helping the bowlers, Shadab and Salman batted steadily, mostly going for singles and doubles to take the team to 78-2 at the halfway point. In the 12th over, Salman danced down the ground and lifted Mohammad Nawaz’s left-arm spin over long-on, culminating in a fifty-run partnership with Shadab
For all his poise and maturity, Salman (33 off 30) went for a big, wild shot on the next ball by pacer Blessing Muzarabani, only for it to fly off his outside edge and into the gloves of Tim Seifert behind the wickets. Karachi’s hopes brightened when leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood went on to take a simple return catch to dismiss Azam Khan off his own bowling in the 15th over — when Islamabad needed 40 off 34 balls. Things got more complicated for Islamabad when Hamza returned to swing one across Shadab (34 off 26) to get the right-hander’s gloves and force another caught behind dismissal.
However, the required equation was reduced to run-a-ball when Faheem Ashraf arrived and misplayed a delivery by Hamza over square-leg for a stunning six on the following ball.
Islamabad mainly relied on running till Haider (26 not out off 16) hit speedster Hasan Ali for a four and a six to end the match in the 19th over.
Earlier put to bat, Karachi got off to a sluggish start and managed just 38 runs in the powerplay, during which Shan was dismissed cheaply off Faheem. After smashing five boundaries for 26 runs with his opening partner Seifert, the pacer went on to dismiss him in the seventh over.
In the ninth over, Shadab Khan made an outstanding catch when Shoaib Malik misplayed a skier off Imad Wasim’s left-arm spin, putting Karachi in even more danger. The second man out was Mohammad Nawaz, the left-hander finding Munro at deep square leg after he was caught by a rising bounder from Tymal Mills.
After Pollard struck first with a smart move for four off Mills, Karachi was trailing 66-4 at the break.
After hitting Shadab over deep midwicket for six in the eleventh over and then again over long off for maximums, the former West Indies all-rounder applied further pressure to Islamabad.
Watching Pollard from the other end, James Vince seemed like growing in confidence when he hit Mills for three consecutive boundaries in the 14th over, only to get caught behind on the fourth ball after adding 29 off 27 to the total.
Vince’s wicket suffocated the flow of runs once again and Pollard (39 off 28) succumbed to the pressure in the 18th over, becoming Hunain Shah’s first wicket. Karachi couldn’t fight back from that point and dragged themselves to what proved to be a paltry total.
