LAHORE: Karachi Kings defeated Lahore Qalandars by 5 wickets in the 35th match of PSL 11 after successfully chasing a target of 200 runs with 8 balls to spare.
The match was played at Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium. Karachi achieved the target in 18.4 overs, losing 5 wickets along the way.
David Warner played a crucial knock of 63 not out from 44 balls for Karachi Kings while Khushdil Shah’s blistering 44 off just 14 balls turned out to be the match-winning contribution. Khushdil hit 5 sixes and 2 fours in his explosive innings.
Moeen Ali also made a valuable contribution with 39 runs, while Salman Ali Agha and Azam Khan each scored 14 runs. Rassie van der Dussen (10) and Jason Roy (9) were dismissed early, but Karachi’s middle order steadied the ship under Warner’s leadership.
Earlier, Lahore Qalandars had set a competitive target, thanks to a brilliant partnership between Abdullah Shafiq and Fakhar Zaman. Shafiq top-scored with 62 runs off 36 balls, while Fakhar made 61 runs, anchoring the Qalandars’ innings. Openers Mohammad Farooq (18) and Charith Asalanka (0) had brief stays at the crease, while Dan Christian (20) and Sikandar Raza (18*) contributed towards the end.
Earlier, Rawalpindi achieved their first win in PSL 11, defeating Islamabad United by 6 wickets despite being already eliminated from the tournament.
Sahibzada Farhan vows strong comeback after PSL setback
Meanwhile, Multan Sultans’ player Sahibzada Farhan expressed confidence that the team would correct its mistakes and make a strong comeback in their next match against Islamabad, after a defeat at the hands of Hyderabad Kingsmen in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Hyderabad Kingsmen beat Multan Sultans by four wickets on Wednesday. Multan Sultans scored an impressive 213 runs and lost seven wickets in 20 overs. Steve Smith was the top run-scorer who hit 106 runs and Farhan also scored 66 runs.
In reply, Hyderabad Kingsmen made 214 runs in just three balls to go and won by a difference of one run with a wonderful hundred by Osman Khan.
In a press conference following the match, Sahibzada Farhan praised both teams’ outstanding performance. “The way Steve Smith performed, I thought he would make a lot of runs but there is no denying the quality performance of the opposition too. It’s T20 cricket and everything is possible. We cannot only blame the bowlers because something like this can happen any day. We will bounce back with an even more outstanding performance in the match against Islamabad.”
In terms of crowd support,” Farhan mentioned, “it was certainly noticeable in the early stages of PSL that there weren’t many crowds, but maybe we have grown used to it. But it would have been better to see more crowds here.
He summed up with his future plans saying, “As far as the cricket career is concerned, there will be high and low periods. But PSL last year proved to be my turning point. Post this PSL, I will play Grade 2 red-ball cricket as I am gearing up to play ODI cricket.
