Daily Times

LAHORE: Karachi Kings were on the brink elimination when they suffered 55-run defeat at the hands of Peshawar Zalmi in their Pakistan Super League (PSL) VII match at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Sunday. 2020 champions Karachi have lost their sixth successive contest of the 2022 season and now need a miracle to reach the play-offs. Babar Azam-led Karachi will not only need to win all of their remaining four matches, they will also be needing other results to go in their favour to qualify for the play-offs. On the other hand, Peshawar have now won three out of their seven matches and remain in the hunt for a play-off berth. Chasing a formidable 194-run target, Karachi lost their aggressive opener Sharjel Khan for 14 runs with 25 runs on the scoreboard. Then Babar with Joe Clarke launched a 55-run second wicket partnership, but the required-run-rate continued to mount as Clarke was dismissed in 13.2 overs. Only Babar was the leading run-scorer with 59 but he absorbed too many dot balls, while no other batter managed to play a big knock against a disciplined and probing Peshawar attack. Clarke was bowled by Liam Livingstone for a run-a-ball 26 while Babar after facing 46 balls, hitting six fours. For Peshawar, Wahab Riaz and Salman Irshad picked two wickets each.

Earlier, put into bat first, Peshawar openers Hazratullah Zazai and debutant Mohammad Haris (player of the match) made full use of Karachi’s lapses in the field especially in the power play overs. Haris who hit a six off the first ball he faced in his PSL career was dropped by Sahibzada Farhan. Zazai was let off by Farhan when he was on two. The duo kept going after the bowling and earned rich rewards in their 97-run opening stand which ended on the last ball of the 10th over with Haris bowled by Mohammad Nabi for a scintillating 49 off 27 balls (three fours, four sixes). Zazai scored his third 50 in a mere four matches against Karachi, the left-hander was eventually dismissed by Qasim Akram who was appearing in his first match of the season for 52 off 42 balls. Zazai’s innings was laced with six fours and a six.

Later, Shoaib Malik (31 off 21, three fours) and Ben Cutting (26 off 15, four fours) made useful contributions to steer their side to 193 for the loss of six wickets. Chris Jordan with three wickets for 41 was the most successful Karachi bowler. Nabi, Umaid Asif, and Qasim took one wicket each. It is pertinent to mention that Karachi dropped at least six catches in the fixture.

Player of the match Haris said: “I will give credit to my team management who offered me great support and encouragement and I played as they asked me to. My favourite wicketkeeper batters are Jos Butler and Mohammad Rizwan, we had realised that we were making some mistakes in power play overs and thank fully we made good use today. As a young player it can be challenging to make an impact in the PSL so I would hope to make most of the opportunities that come my way.”

Brief scores:

Peshawar Zalmi 193 for 6, 20 overs (Hazratullah Zazai 52, Mohammad Haris 49, Shoaib Malik 31; Chris Jordan 3-41) VS Karachi Kings 138 for 6, 20 overs (Babar Azam 59, Joe Clarke 26; Wahab Riaz 2-26, Salman Irshad 2-24).

Today’s match

Islamabad United vs Karachi Kings at 07:30 pm (PST)