KARACHI: Shane Watson and Khurram Manzoor hit half centuries in an 118-run partnership off 65 balls as Quetta Gladiators thrashed Karachi Kings by five wickets in their last league match of the HBL Pakistan Super League5 at National Stadium here on Sunday. Despite victory, Quetta were unable to sneak into last-four stage of the tournament. Interestingly, Quetta needed 151 in 3.2 overs to displace Peshawar Zalmi from the fourth spot. In the end, they chased down the target in 16.2 overs to exit the tournament. After their fourth win of the tournament, Quetta, the defending champions, were tied with Peshawar on nine points, but couldn’t secure a semi-final berth due to a low net run rate. Watson scored 66 off 34 balls, in which he smashed seven fours and four sixes, while Khurram made a 40-ball 63, studded with nine fours and a six. For his match-winning knock, Watson was named man of the match.
The dismissal of Khurram in the 12th over by Waqas Maqsood, who had sent Ahmed Shehzad (zero) back in the hut on the second ball of the run chase, sparked a collapse as Quetta slipped to 139 for five from 118 for one. Pacer Arshad Iqbal (3.2-0-37-2) removed Watson and Ben Cutting on the first two balls of the 15th over. But Azam Khan (12 not out) and Mohammad Nawaz (eight not out) held their nerves to take Quetta over the line.
Earlier, Cameron Delport’s 44-ball 62, which included five fours and two sixes, helped Karachi to 150 for five in 20 overs. The left-handed batsman stitched a 73-run stand for the fourth wicket with Chadwick Walton (26 off 20). Babar Azam was the other notable contributor with the bat for Karachi as he scored 32 off 34 and put up partnerships worth 30 and 42 with Iftikhar Ahmed (21 off 17) and Delport after Shajeel Khan was bowled by Naseem Shah on the second ball of the match. With the dismissal of Walton on the last ball of the penultimate over, Naseem finished with two wickets for just 17 runs in four over, while Sohail Khan, Fawad Ahmed and Mohammad Hasnain picked up a wicket each. Karachi, who had sealed their semi-finals berth on Saturday, had rested a number of key players, including regular captain Imad Wasim. Umad Asif, Chris Jordan, and Mohammad Amir also were handed breaks and the fringe players sprayed the ball around, but Karachi will be buoyed by Delport’s return to form. The South African was on 18 off 21 balls at one point, but he finished with 62 –– his first half-century of PSL 2020.