LAHORE: Opener Shamyl Hussain stroked a whirlwind half-century on his maiden Pakistan Super League appearance but ended up on the losing side as fast bowler Hasan Ali led Karachi Kings to a 14-run victory over Quetta Gladiators in the second match of the 11th edition at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday.

Shamyl, who first made his presence felt four years ago at the same venue in the Pakistan Junior League, reached his fifty off 21 balls before perishing for a 24-ball 52 studded with five fours and four sixes.

Karachi’s spin trio of debutant Adam Zampa, Moeen Ali and Salman Ali Agha first applied the pressure in the middle overs by drying up Quetta’s run flow, before Hasan Ali picked up crucial wickets in the back end. Quetta ultimately finished on 167 for seven after being 95 for three in 10 overs, falling 14 runs short of Karachi’s 181 for seven.

Shamyl, in partnership with captain Saud Shakeel (33, 25b, 6×4), had given Quetta a whirlwind start of 79 runs off 43 balls before Moeen, Zampa and Hasan turned the match on its head in the second half of the innings.

Zampa finished with one for 26 and picked up the scalp of Khawaja Nafay, while Moeen conceded 26 runs from his four and claimed the wicket of Saud Shakeel. Pakistan’s T20I captain Salman Ali Agha also grabbed the important wicket of Shamyl, giving away just 10 runs from two overs.

It was Hasan Ali, however, who stole the limelight with figures of 4-0-27-4, including the wickets of Hasan Nawaz, Tom Curran and Ahmed Daniyal in the penultimate over – when Quetta still needed 36 runs for victory. Hasan now has 129 wickets in 93 PSL matches since 2016, a testament to his enduring love affair with the tournament.

Earlier, after being put in to bat, former England allrounder Moeen Ali provided late impetus to the Karachi innings, lifting them from 111 for five in 14 overs to 181 for seven in 20 overs – after Karachi had posted 60 for two in the PowerPlay.

Moeen, later adjudged player of the match, struck four fours and three sixes in a 29-ball 48 not out, anchoring three crucial partnerships: 31 off 20 with Khushdil Shah (12) for the sixth wicket, 20 off 11 with Shahid Aziz (8) for the seventh, and an unbroken 21 off nine with Hasan Ali (7 not out) for the eighth.

These late fireworks came on the back of two solid stands in the middle. After Karachi lost Mohammad Wasim in the opening over, David Warner (35, 22b, 4×4, 1×6) and Salman Ali Agha (22, 10b, 4×4, 1×6) put on 41 for the second wicket off 19 balls. Warner then added another 41 off 30 balls for the third wicket with young Saad Baig, who contributed an impressive 30 off 23 balls with six fours.

For Quetta, Ahmed Daniyal was the standout bowler with figures of 4-0-36-3. He was denied a fourth wicket in the final over when Shamyl Hussain dropped Moeen Ali, and ended up conceding 13 runs in that over.

Pakistan’s T20I spin pair of Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq had a mixed outing, each picking up one wicket – Usman conceding 29 runs and Abrar 35. West Indies’ Alzarri Joseph was the other impressive bowler, taking two for 32, while England’s Tom Curran was expensive, leaking 35 runs from three overs.

Scores in brief:

Match 2 – Karachi Kings beat Quetta Gladiators by 14 runs

Karachi Kings 181-7, 20 overs (Moeen Ali 48 not out, David Warner 35, Saad Baig 30, Salman Ali Agha 22, Azam Khan 14, Khushdil Shah 12; Ahmed Daniyal 3-36, Alzarri Joseph 2-32)

Quetta Gladiators 167-7, 20 overs (Shamyl Hussain 52, Saud Shakeel 33, Rilee Rossouw 25, Ben McDermott 25 not out, Hasan Nawaz 19; Hasan Ali 4-27)

Player of the Match – Moeen Ali (Karachi Kings)

Sunday’s fixtures: Peshawar Zalmi v Rawalpindi Express (2:30pm); Multan Sultans v Islamabad United (7:00pm)