Once again Azam Khan brought his pyrotechnics to the fore to propel Islamabad United to a six-wicket win over Karachi Kings in a high scoring thriller in the 19th match of the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi Friday.
Azam cracked whip with a fiery 72 off 41 riding on eight sixes and four boundaries to help the two-time champions overhaul a 202-run target with four balls to spare.
United didn't get off to a good start as the New Zealand's star batter Colin Munro was sent to pavilion in the very first over after smashing 11 off five balls. Rassie van der Dussen and Alex Hales then combined to add 50 runs in 30 balls for the second wicket to steady United's boat and kept the scoreboard ticking. However, Hales and Dussen were dismissed in quick succession after contributing with 34 and 22 runs respectively to leave Shadab Khan-led side reeling at 69/3 in 7.2 overs.
Then came Azam Khan and Faheem Ashraf who stitched a robust century partnership (124 off 69), to keep United alive in the match. Asif Ali belted a six, followed by a four, to finish off the run-chase in the final over of the innings.
Earlier, riding on Imad Wasim's brilliant 92 off 54 balls Karachi Kings set United a daunting target of 202 runs. After deciding to bat first, the Kings scored 61 runs in the powerplay but lost three wickets in the process. Sharjeel Khan (8), who made a comeback to the side, was the first to be dismissed after being cleaned up by Rumman Raees. Tayyab Tahir was the second Karachi batter to go back to the hut after playing a brief cameo of 19 runs in eight balls. Tom Curran was the successful bowler on this occasion. Adam Rossington was dismissed after mistiming a slower ball from Hasan Ali. He scored 20 runs in 16 balls.
Veteran batter Shoaib Malik was sent packing by Ashraf after a ball went in between his bat and pad while trying to play a drive.
At this stage, captain Wasim took control of the innings and added 99 runs, while consuming 56 balls, for the fifth wicket with Irfan Khan.
The partnership was broken after a brilliant relay catch near the boundary line, when Hasan Ali went across to his left, while falling over the rope, and flicked the ball out of his hand to Rassie van der Dussen coming across from long-off. The impressive fielding display led to Irfan’s departure, who scored 30 runs in 20 balls. For the United, Tom Curran claimed two wickets but conceded 43 runs in his four overs.
Karachi, who are now in fifth place on the points table, were in dire need of a victory to maintain their playoff hopes. Only two of the eight games played by the Imad Wasim-led team have been victories in the competition.
With eight points after six games, Islamabad are in a stronger situation. They presently hold the third spot on the points standings, behind Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars, respectively (second).
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