DUBAI: Ravi Bopara and Shahid Afrid sparkled with bat and ball as Karachi Kings scored 27-run win over Lahore Qalandars in the eighth match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at Dubai International Stadium here on Monday night. This was the third consecutive loss for Qalandars and the third consecutive triumph for Kings. After deciding to bat first, Kings managed to post 159 for the loss of seven wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Khurram Manzoor and Joe Denly opened the innings and provided them a flying start against the Qalandars. However, they could not carry the momentum forward for long as Kings lost three wickets back-to-back. After six overs, Kings had managed to score 39 runs for the loss of three. Bopara and Colin Ingram steadied the ship in the middle overs of the match. Ingram had been the more adventurous batsman during his partnership with Bopara. But the star of the show was all-rounder Bopara, who scored an unbeaten 50 off 34 with the help of two fours and two sixes. Ingram scored 28 off 29 before falling to Yasir Shah. Bopara remained unbeaten at the end of the Kings’ inning. For Qalandars, pacer Sohail Khan, leg-spinner Yasir Shah and off-spinner Sunil Narine claimed two wickets each.
In reply, Qalandars once again had a solid start and at one stage were 70 for one in the seventh over, but another monumental collapse saw them lose last nine wickets for just 62 runs and were eventually bowled out for 132 in the 19th over. Captain Brandon McCullum finished the Qalandars’ innings with the top score of 44 off 30 with the help of five fours and two sixes. For Kings, veteran all-rounder Afridi and pacer Usman Khan Shinwari claimed three wickets each. For his outstanding bowling performance, Afridi was named player of the match.
Brief scores: Karachi Kings 159 for 7 (Ravi Bopara 50 not out, Sunil Narine 2-18) beat Lahore Qalandars 132 (Brendon McCullum 44, Shahid Afridi 3-19, Usman Shinwari 3-26) by 27 runs.
Today’s match (Wed Feb 28 at 09:00 OM PST)
9th Match – Islamabad United v Quetta Gladiators at Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Published in Daily Times, February 28th 2018.