Daily Times

KARACHI: Babar Azam and Joe Clarke hammered half centuries as Karachi Kings defeated Multan Sultans by seven wickets in their Pakistan Super League VI match at National Stadium Karachi here on Saturday. Chasing a formidable target of 196, Karachi raced home for the loss of three wickets only. Babar made unbeaten 90 while Clarke hit brisk 54 to condemn Multan to a heavy defeat. Karachi’s victory has given them the top-spot in the PSL 6 points table. They have won two out of their three games and have four points each with Islamabad United, Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi, but with improved net run-rate they are at the top of the table.

Karachi proved once again they are the form team as they started the chase in a confident manner. Openers Babar and Sharjeel Khan punished Multan bowlers as Karachi reached 50 in fifth over. After bowling first two reasonable overs the Multan bowlers gave away many runs in third and fourth overs. Multan are facing problems with their strike bowlers and it is going to be an Achilles heel for them in the remaining tournament. Sharjeel departed after making brisk 27 but Babar stood firm and showed why he is among the top batsmen in the world. Clarke joined Babar in the middle and showed aggression from the start. He tore the Multan bowling apart and bludgeoned his way to 50 in just 24 balls which included four sixes and three boundaries. His innings made the chase look very easy for Karachi. Clarke was especially merciless against spinners. He departed after making 54 off 26 balls but not before making things easy for the defending champions. The pair added 97 runs stand for the second-wicket. Babar sealed the match in style by hitting Sohail Khan in the 19th over. Shahnawaz Dhani with two wickets for 28 runs in three overs was the pick of the Sultans’ bowlers.

Earlier, after being put into bat by Karachi captain Imad Wasim, Multan got off to a flying start. The opening pair of Chris Lynn and Mohammad Rizwan combined for a 50-run partnership in just 4.1 overs. The very next ball, Lynn fell to Imad after scoring 32 off 14 balls (six fours, one six), his highest so far in the PSL 6. Rizwan was joined by James Vince with scoreboard reading at 53 for one. Both batsmen continued to dominate the Kings bowling attack as they contributed 70 runs for the second-wicket before Rizwan became right-arm fast Arshad Iqbal’s first victim of the day. Rizwan scored 43 off 32 balls. He struck five boundaries. After the departure of Rizwan, the flow of runs dropped considerably for Multan, and they ended up scoring 195 for six in 20 overs. Vince top-scored with a 29-ball 45, striking five fours and a six. Sohaib Maqsood contributed an unbeaten 34 off 27, which included two fours and a six. For Karachi, Arshad was pick of the bowlers with two for 36 in four overs.