RAWALPINDI – Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings by five wickets in the 24th Pakistan Super League (PSL) Season 9 match at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on Thursday.
Chasing a below-par 151-run victory target, United crossed the finishing line for the loss of five wickets with eight balls to spare. Skipper Shadab Khan was the highest scorer with 34 runs followed by Salman Ali Agha who made 33 runs. Haider Ali scored 26 runs, Alex Hales 18 and Faheem Ashraf 12 runs. Mir Hamza bagged three wickets while Zahid Mehmood and Blessing Muzarabani took one wicket each. Faheem Ashraf was named player of the match for his all-round performance.
After being asked to bat first, Kings skipper Shan Masood (10) and Tim Seifert (26) provided a solid start with a 34-run partnership. But Kings lost the initiative by losing four wickets with the addition of just 15 runs. James Vince (29) and Kieron Pollard (39) steadied the ship by stitching a 58-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Steady death bowling helped restrict the Kings to 150/7 in the allotted 20 overs. Tymal Mills bagged three wickets and Faheem Ashraf two while Hunain Shah and Imad Wasim took one wicket each.
Islamabad United Playing XI: Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan (c), Azam Khan (wk), Haider Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Matthew Forde, Hunain Shah, Tymal Mills
Karachi Kings Playing XI: Shan Masood (c), Tim Seifert (wk), James Vince, Shoaib Malik, Kieron Pollard, Irfan Khan Niazi, Mohammad Nawaz, Hassan Ali, Zahid Mehmood, Mir Hamza, Blessing Muzarabani
