Malik's last-ball four hands Karachi Kings crucial points
Written by I Dig Sports
Published in
Cricket
Saturday, 09 March 2024 19:18
Karachi Kings 179 for 7 (Vince 42, Irfan 35, Abbas 2-23) beat Lahore Qalandars 177 for 5 (Shafique 55, Zaman 54, Mahmood 2-27) by three wickets
Shoaib Malik hit a boundary off the last ball to give Karachi Kings a three-wicket victory in a must-win game against two-time champion Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League on Saturday.
The win kept alive the Kings' hopes of a place in the playoffs with eight points from nine games. Qalandars were already eliminated, beating only Quetta Gladiators and losing seven games in the absence of injured spinner Rashid Khan.
With three runs needed off the last delivery, Malik (27 not out) drove fast bowler Zaman Khan's low full toss through point to guide his team to a winning 179 for 7 in a tense finish.
Qalandars had posted 177 for 5 on the back of half centuries from Abdullah Shafique (55) and Fakhar Zaman (54) after the Kings captain Shan Masood won the toss and chose to field.
Masood's decision to demote himself to No. 3 after struggling as an opener in his first season as the team's captain paid off as the pair of James Vince (42) and Tim Seifert (36) provided a confident start of 59.
But Qalandars came back strongly when fast bowler Tayyab Abbas (2-23) got the big wicket of Kieron Pollard (3) and Seifert was run out after a major misunderstanding with Malik.
Irfan Khan scored a brisk 35 off 16 balls with six boundaries before the Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi (1-37) knocked back his middle stump in the penultimate over. Zaman conceded just five runs off his first five balls but Malik stayed calm to seal the game for the Kings off the final delivery.
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