Daily Times

LAHORE: Jason Roy and Khurram Shahzad sparkled with bat and ball, respectively, as Quetta Gladiators defeated Karachi Kings by 23 runs in the 28th match of the Pakistan Super League VII at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Sunday evening. Chasing a modest target of 167, Karachi could score only 143 for the loss eight wickets in their allotted overs. After an 87-run start in 10.5 overs between Joe Clarke (52 off 39 balls with four fours and two sixes) and Babar Azam (36 off 34 balls with three fours and a six), the Karachi batsmen could not withstand brilliant bowling of Khurram who claimed four scalps for 22 runs on debut and bagged the man of the match award. Karachi lost seven wickets for just 37 runs with Khurram turning the chase on its head. The result means Quetta have finished their 10 matches with four wins.

Karachi, who held the upper hand for most parts, skittled away a strong start with the bat to go down. It was a case of old habits dying hard for Karachi. It is interesting to note that Karachi created another unwanted PSL record yesterday after losing to Quetta. This was 2019 champions Karachi’s ninth defeat in 10 matches in the PSL 7, making the Babar Azam-led side the first-ever team in the tournament’s history to lose nine matches in a single edition. Previously, this unwanted record was with 2019 champions Quetta who had lost eight matches in a single edition. Quetta had this unlikeable feat in the PSL 2021. Karachi earlier became the first team to lose eight consecutive matches in a single edition of PSL before they got a consolation win against Lahore Qalandars on Friday. Their losing streak of nine matches is also the longest losing streak for any PSL team.

Earlier, batting first, Quetta rallied around Jason’s 82 from 64 balls with 11 fours to reach 166 for four. Quetta openers struggled to get going. Will Smeed fell early while Jason made use of the powerplay to get off to a fast start. Imad Wasim and Umaid Asif snuck in some economical overs as Karachi captain Babar rotated his bowlers quite regularly. That did not deter Jasonand James Vince, who added 90 for the second wicket. Vince’s attempt at upping the scoring rate resulted in his dismissal, as he was bowled by fellow Englishman Lewis Gregory while trying to play a big shot across the line. Jason soon brought up his third half-century in the season but then fell in the final over, holing out to Mir Hamza. Thanks to Jason and Iftikhar Ahmed, Quetta collected 41 off the last four overs to post 166.

Today’s match:

Lahore Qalandars vs Peshawar Zalmi at 07:30 pm (PST)