Karachi, 9 March 2024: Karachi Kings secured their fourth win of HBL PSL 9 by defeating Lahore Qalandars by three wickets at National Bank Stadium, Karachi on Saturday night. Batting first, Lahore posted 177-5.. In return, Karachi chased the total on the last ball of the final over, keeping their chances for playoffs alive.

The home side won the toss and elected to field first. Opening batter Mirza Tahir Baig (4, 7b), replacing Sahibzada Farhan, lost his wicket cheaply as he fell to Anwar Ali in the third over.

Abdullah Shafique joined Fakhar Zaman in the middle to construct a 70-run partnership that stabilized Lahore’s innings. Fakhar got to work in the powerplay, hitting a six and a four in the fourth over and then a boundary in the sixth to help the side get to 44-1 at the end of powerplay.

Fakhar and Abdullah then hit a six each against Shoaib Malik in the ninth over, milking 15 runs from it . Shortly after, Fakhar was run out as Muhammad Irfan Khan perfected his throw at the stumps from midwicket. The left-handed batter walked back in the 11^th over after scoring his first half-century (54, 35b, 5x4s, 2x6s) of HBL PSL 9.

In the next over, Abdullah and Shai Hope hit a boundary each against Zahid to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Zahid bowled a double-wicket over, taking out Hope (9, 11b, 1×4) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (1, 3b) for single-digit scores with the scorecard reading 122-4 after 15 overs.

Abdullah brought up his first half-century of HBL PSL 9 in the 16^th over. In the subsequent over, he was caught at deep square by Anwar off Blessing Muzarabani and had to walk back for a dogged 55 on 39, on the back of five boundaries and a solitary six.

An unbeaten sixth-wicket partnership, producing 46 on 20, between David Wiese and Sikandar Raza helped Lahore end with a competitive total of 177-5. Wiese, who hit three sixes, contributed an undefeated 24 on nine. Raza chipped in with an undefeated 22 on 16, with two fours and a six.

Zahid had two wickets while Anwar and Muzarabani had one each.

Tim Seifert and James Vince, opening the batting for Karachi, gave their side an inspiring start with 58 runs amassed in the powerplay. After seeing off Shaheen’s first over, the two took on Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti to produce 17 in the second over on the back of two fours and a six. They followed that up with at least a boundary each in the remaining powerplay overs.

Tayyab Abbas provided the breakthrough for Lahore, with Vince caught behind for 42 off 27, on the back of six fours and one maximum.

Shan Masood, batting at three, managed to add 24 from 16 with the help of three fours, before Raza disturbed his stumps with a stunning delivery in the 12^th over, breaking the 40-run second-wicket stand. In the next over, Pollard was caught behind after nicking one off Tayyab and returned for a paltry five ball three.

In the 15^th over, Seifert (36, 33b, 2x4s) was run out as a result of confusion in the middle, with both the batters at the non-striker’s end as Kings required 65 off 34 balls.

Shaheen conceded 15 in the 17^th over, courtesy of three fours by Irfan. In the next over, Shoaib hit two cracking fours against Zaman, inching closer to the target.

In the penultimate over, Shaheen rattled Irfan’s (35, 16b, 6x4s) stumps, breaking the 52-run partnership to bring Karachi five down.

Defending eight in the last over, Zaman caught and bowled Anwar Ali (1, 3b) on the first ball of the over. Arafat Minhas was then run out by Raza on the third ball, to bring the equation to six needed off three.

Shoaib (27 not out, 17b, 4x4s) hit a four on the final delivery to help Karachi win the close encounter.

Tayyab bagged two wickets, while Shaheen, Zaman and Sikandar picked up one each.

Scores in brief:

Karachi Kings beat Lahore Qalandars by three wickets

Lahore Qalandars 177-5, 20 overs (Abdullah Shafique 55, Fakhar Zaman 54; Zahid Mahmood 2-27)

Karachi Kings 179-7, 20 overs (James Vince 42, Tim Seifert 36, Muhammad Irfan Khan 35; Tayyab Abbas 2-23)

Player of the match – Muhammad Irfan Khan (Karachi Kings)