Karachi Kings defeated Lahore Qalandars by 67 runs in the eighth match of the ongoing eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Sunday at the National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi.
When they batted first, Karachi Kings set a competitive 186-run target before bowling out Lahore Qalandars for 118 runs in 17.3 overs.
After Akif Javed took two wickets to put Karachi Kings in command against Lahore Qalandars, skipper Imad Wasim struck in his final over.
Tahir Baig and Kamran Ghulam led the run-chase after Aamer Yamin and Mohammad Amir gave the Kings two early breaks.
But Akif, a young bowler brought in to replace an injured Mir Hamza, struck twice in his third over to send the two batters back to the pavilion.
Tahir, the young opening batter, scored 45 runs off 39 balls, while Kamran collected 23 runs.
Following that, Imad compounded the defending champions’ woes by fooling Hussain Talat with a spinning delivery, which the all-rounder missed and Matthew Wade was quick to remove the stumps.
Yamin struck again, this time getting the wicket of dangerous batter David Wiese, who was forced to leave the field after scoring only nine runs.
The Qalandars kept losing wickets as they attempted to chase down the target, with Ben Cutting taking two wickets in his first over bowled at a crucial time. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sikandar Raza were both dismissed by the all-rounder (18).
In his final over, Akif continued to impress and helped his team win their first match of the PSL 2023 by sending Liam Dawson and Zaman Khan back to the pavilion.
Fakhar Zaman and Tahir started the run-chase with a great approach, hitting boundaries on numerous occasions, giving the Qalandars a good start.
However, the home team broke through when Yamin toppled Fakhar’s stumps with a good length delivery after the left-handed batter had scored 15 runs off 12 balls.
Amir took the crucial wicket of Shai Hope in the next over, forcing him to walk back after scoring only one run.
Hope’s departure was caused by a spectacular catch from Irfan Niazi.
Earlier, Karachi Kings set a target of 186 runs for Lahore Qalandars.
Following James Vince’s 46-run knock, skipper Imad Wasim and Ben Cutting added 50 runs to help their side post a competitive total against the defending champions.
Ben Cutting (20), on the other hand, was bowled out by Shaheen Shah Afridi, who delivered a fiery delivery to topple the stumps.
Imad, the home team’s captain, scored 35 runs off 19 balls.
Prior to the partnership of the two all-rounders, the Qalandars took three quick wickets to mount a comeback against the Kings.
Vince and Matthew Wade, who had been promoted to open, put on a 69-run partnership for the first wicket to put their team in command.
However, the Australian batter was dismissed after scoring 36 runs after a run-out.
Haider Ali was the next batter to bat, but his stay was cut short when Liam Dawson bowled him out for 18 runs.
Despite the loss of Wade and Haider, the home team was in a good position, but Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan scored to help them turn things around.
Rauf dismissed veteran batsman Shoaib Malik (10) while Zaman took Vince’s wickets to reduce them to 124-4.
England’s batter scored 46 runs off 36 balls, with three boundaries and two maximums.
Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen, Zaman, Haris, and Dawson each took a wicket.
Earlier, against Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars won the toss and chose to bowl first.
Karachi Kings Vs Lahore Qalandars Full Highlights
Get the latest updates on Pakistan Super League! PSL 2023, PSL Schedule, PSL Points Table, PSL Squads and PSL Live Score
Read More: PSL 8 Points Table After Karachi Kings Beats Lahore Qalandars – PSL 2023
