Colin Ingram hammered a dazzling unbeaten knock of 127 off 59 as Karachi Kings registered six-wicket win against Quetta Gladiators at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium here on Sunday evening. Ingram became the first overseas player to score a century in the Pakistan Super League. The top-order batsman hit 12 fours, and as many as eight sixes at a strike rate of 215.25 as Karachi overhauled a target of 187 with eight balls to spare and hand Quetta their first defeat in five games. The win lifted the gloom in Karachi camp as they registered their second win in five matches and after three defeats in a row. They are now fifth in the table, which Quetta continued to top with eight points after five games (four win and one defeat). Peshawar are now second in the six-team table, having six points (three wins in five matches). Defending champions Islamabad United are third (six points in five), Lahore Qalandars are fourth with four points in five (two wins and three losses), Multan are sixth (two points from five, with one win and four defeats).
With 114 needed in the last ten overs and Karachi losing grip, Ingram cut loose. He hit two boundaries and a six off pacer Ghulam Mudassar and smacked three sixes off spinner Mohammad Nawaz to bring the target down to 54 in last six. He took a single off Sohail Tanvir to bring up the joint fastest hundred in all PSL editions. Sohail picked two wickets in his four-over quota off 21 runs, while Nawaz and Fawad Ahmed picked one wicket each. Fast bowler Mudassar and Anwar Ali’s stats were a sorry tale as they departed the stadium wicketless while giving runs on an average of 14.66 and 10.90, respectively.
Chasing a daunting 9.35 run-per-over target Karachi were in tatters at 4-2 as they lost their key batsmen Babar Azam off the very first ball, playing straight into the hands of covers off Sohail. Colin Munro fell to another low score as he punched a long hop from Nawaz to square-leg. Ingram added 50 for the third wicket with Awais Zia who made a laborious 21-ball 19. Ingram reached his first fifty off 31 balls — Karachi’s only third in five matches — with a boundary.
Earlier, Umar Akmal led the Quetta’s onslaught with a fiery 37-ball 55 which had five sixes to take them to 186-5 in 20 overs. Rilee Rossouw made 32-ball 44 with four boundaries and a six. But it was Anwar who gave the real impetus to the innings with his six-ball 27 not out inclusive of four sixes. It was a sixes galore in Quetta’s innings as they smashed 12 sixes off a hapless Karachi attack. Aamer Yamin took 3-37.
Brief scores:
Quetta Gladiators 186-5 in 20 overs (Umar Akmal 55, R Rossouw 44, Anwar Ali 27 not out; Aamer Yamin 3-37-) VS Karachi Kings 188-4 in 18.4 overs (C Ingram 127 not out).
Published in Daily Times, February 26th 2019.