Sports Reporter
Karachi
The Karachi Kings have been crowned the 2020 Pakistan Super League winners after beating the Lahore Qalandars by five wickets, their first-ever title in Pakistan’s premier Twenty20 tournament.
The Kings reached the 135-run target with eight balls to spare at Karachi National Stadium.
The final was played after a gap of nearly eight months after the PSL’s fifth edition came to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Kings began their innings on a high note, with openers Babar Azam and Sharjeel Khan both hitting two boundaries each in the first two overs.
Qalandars had their first breakthrough in the fourth over, however, with Sharjeel (13 off 12) getting caught splendidly by Fakhar Zaman off Samit Patel’s first ball.
Alex Hales, who contributed 11 runs from as many balls, was bowled out by Dilbar Hussain in the seventh over. Babar (53 off 42) and Chadwick Walton then piled on runs as the Kings reached 110-2 in 15 overs.
Dilbar struck again in the 16th over, bowling out Walton (22 off 27), while Haris Rauf sent both Iftikhar Ahmed and SE Rutherford packing on consecutive balls.
Skipper Imad Wasim hit a stylish four to end Kings’ innings at 135-5 and lift their maiden PSL trophy.
Lahore Qalandars, who opted to bat first after winning the toss, earlier finished at 134-7 in the showdown against Karachi Kings.
President Arif Alvi has congratulated Karachi Kings on winning the title, terming it “a good win”.
Federal minister Asad Umar too congratulated the winners, saying in a tweet: “Babar Azam is the King!”
Multan Sultans, whom Kings had defeated in the qualifier to reach the PSL final for the first time, conveyed congratulations on Twitter as well.
Karachi Kings captain Imad Wasim said: “We’ll just have to be at our best and hold our nerve. This is just cricket, not war, and we have to trust our process.”
The most alluring aspect of PSL is that each edition had provided different matchups in the title-decider, meaning no two same sides have confronted each other for the trophy in any of the five seasons.
