RAWALPINDI – Islamabad United thumped Karachi Kings by 79 runs at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday evening to secure the second slot in the PSL X points table.
Now, Islamabad United will play against Quetta Gladiators in the first Qualifier of PSL X.
Chasing a challenging 252-run target for victory, Kings kept losing wickets at regular intervals after a solid 56-run opening partnership between David Warner (43) and Tim Seifert (26), and were bundled out for 172 in 18.2 overs.
Abbas Afridi contributed 34 runs, Aamer Jamal 16, Irfan Niazi 14 and Mir Hamza 12 runs. Shadab Khan bagged four wickets, Salman Irshad three and Imad Wasim two, while Salman Ali Agha took one wicket. Alex Hales was named player of the match.
After being asked to bat first, Alex Hales (88) and Sahibzada Farhan (73) put the Kings bowlers to the sword in a 153-run opening partnership.
After losing Salman Ali Agha (7) and Rassie van der Dussen (1) cheaply, Skipper Shadab Khan (42), Haider Ali (19) and Ben Dwarshuis (10) ensured a strong finish to take the team score to 251/5 in the allocated 20 overs. Mir Hamza, Khushdil Shah and Aamer Jamal took one wicket each while Shadab Khan and Salman Ali Agha were run out.
Islamabad United Playing XI: Alex Hales, Sahibzada Farhan, Rassie Van der Dussen, Salman Ali Agha, Haider Ali, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Shadab Khan (capt), Ben Dwarshuis, Imad Wasim, Salman Irshad, Tymal Mills
Karachi Kings Playing XI: David Warner (capt), Tim Seifert, James Vince, Saad Baig (wk), Khushdil Shah, Irfan Khan Niazi, Mohammad Nabi, Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Hassan Ali, Mir Hamza
