KARACHI – Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings by seven wickets in the 15th Pakistan Super League (PSL) Season 9 match at the National Stadium Karachi on Wednesday evening.
Chasing a 166-run target for victory, Islamabad United crossed the finishing line with seven wickets in hand and nine balls to spare. Colin Munro (82) and Alex Hales (47) provided a solid foundation with 108 runs opening partnership. Agha Khan (25) and skipper Shadab Khan (10) helped the team achieve the victory target during the penultimate over of the match. Hasan Ali, Tabraiz Shamsi and Mohammad Nawaz bagged one wicket each. Colin Munro was named player of the match.
After being asked to bat first by United skipper Shadab Khan, the Kings failed to maintain a good run rate after losing too many wickets during the first half of the innings. Experienced Kieron Pollard and Irfan Khan Niazi stitched a 76-run partnership for the sixth wicket to score the team 165/5 in the allotted 20 overs. Pollard remained the top scorer with 48 runs followed by Irfan Khan Niazi and skipper Shan Masood who made 27 runs each. Leus du Plooy scored 24 runs. No other batter could reach the double figures. Naseem Shah, Hunain Shah, Imad Wasim and Salman Ali Agha bagged one wicket each while veteran Shoaib Malik was run out.
Islamabad United Playing XI: Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan (c), Azam Khan (wk), Jordan Cox, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah, Hunain Shah, Rumman Raees
Karachi Kings Playing XI: Shan Masood (c), Tim Seifert (wk), Leus du Plooy, Shoaib Malik, Kieron Pollard, Mohammad Nawaz, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza, Tabrazi Shamsi, Mohammad Amir Khan
