Karachi Kings finish PSL journey with 86-run victory against Lahore Qalandars
Karachi Kings Sunday defeated Lahore Qalandars by 86 runs after the latter struggled to chase a 197-run target in the 30th match of the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) eighth edition at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore today.
Chasing a target of 197 runs, Lahore were restricted to 110-9 in 18.5 overs.
Opting to bat first, Karachi posted 196-7 in their allotted 20 overs.
Opener Mohammad Akhlaq top-scored with 51 runs in 36 balls with the help of five fours and two sixes.
Tayyab Tahir notched up 40 runs, meanwhile skipper Imad Wasim added 45 runs. Zaman Khan, Haris Rauf and Hussain Talat claimed two wickets each for Lahore.
Earlier, Kings won the toss and opted to bat.
Qalandars, with 14 points, are currently at the first spot on the league table. Meanwhile, the Kings with only two wins under their belt are at the bottom of the points table.
Kings are already out of the title race of the PSL’s eighth edition as out of nine matches Imad Wasim and Co lost seven fixtures.
Karachi Kings are playing for pride since they were knocked out of the race of the playoffs earlier in the tournament.
Captain Shaheen Shah Afridi has been rested for today’s match. In the pacer’s absence, David Wiese is leading the defending champions.
In the first match of the day, Peshawar Zalmi defeated Islamabad United by 13 runs in Rawalpindi to ensure that both teams will lock horns in the Eliminator 1 of the event.
The result also confirmed that defending champions Lahore Qalandars will face Multan Sultans in the Qualifier of the tournament.
Qualifier, the winner of which will qualify directly for the final, will be played on March 15, meanwhile, the Eliminator 1 will be held on March 16.
The loser of the Qualifier and winner of Eliminator 1 will clash in Eliminator 2 on March 17 for a spot in the final.
Squads:
Lahore Qalandars: Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Sam Billings (wk), Hussain Talat, David Wiese (c), Shane Dadswell, Rashid Khan, Haris Rauf, Dilbar Hussain, Zaman Khan
Karachi Kings: Haider Ali, Muhammad Akhlaq (wk), Tayyab Tahir, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim (c), Ben Cutting, Irfan Khan, James Fuller, Imran Tahir, Mohammad Umar, Akif Javed