Daily Times

DUBAI: The Pakistan Super League (PSL) had it first record-breaking moment on Friday when Liam Livingstone and Babar Azam posted 157 for the opening wicket as Karachi Kings thumped Multan Sultans by seven runs in a last-over thriller at Dubai International Stadium here on Friday. Livingstone, who played two Twenty20 internationals for England in 2017, knocked a brilliant 43-ball 82 on his PSL debut while world’s best Twenty20 batsman Babar chipped in with 59-ball 77 after Karachi captain Imad Wasim won the toss and opted to bat. Shoaib Malik’s 28-ball 52 and Laurie Evans’s 39-ball 49 gave Multan some hopes of a win but Karachi’s left-arm paceman Mohammad Amir took four wickets in a return-to-form spell for 25 runs to ensure the victory — his best figures in all PSL matches.

This becomes Karachi’s second win over Multan in the two editions while one match ended as a no result. Malik upped the tempo after Multan were well short on the run-rate in the first ten overs with the board showing 59-2. Malik added 72 for the third wicket with Evans before a crucial run out broke the stand in the 15th over. Malik smashed five boundaries and two sixes — four boundaries and a six in Ravi Bopara’s 14th over which yielded 24 runs. It reduced the target to 60 in five overs but Malik holed out to Usman Shinwari with 45 needed for victory in 3.3 overs. Shahid Afridi, who switched from Karachi to Multan, hit three boundaries in his eight-ball 14. Multan needed 20 off the last two overs but Amir conceded just four and dismissed Afridi to bring Karachi back in the match. It was left to an expensive Sohail Khan — who had conceded 49 in his first three overs – to bowl the last over with 16 needed.

Brief scores

Karachi Kings 183 for 6 (Liam Livingstone 82, Babar Azam 77, Chris Green 3-32) beat Multan Sultans 176 for 9 (Shoaib Malik 52, Evans 49, Mohammad Amir 4-25) by seven runs

Published in Daily Times, February 16^th 2019.