Karachi Kings 135 for 5 (Denly 29, Babar 28, Ibtisam 2-25, Jordan 2-29) beat Peshawar Zalmi 131 for 9 (Dwayne Smith 71*, Amir 2-6, Afridi 2-22) by five wickets
In a nutshell
Karachi Kings completed a day of low-scoring runs and comfortable chases with a five-wicket win against Peshawar Zalmi to maintain their perfect record in this edition of the PSL. It was tighter than it needed to be, the chase completed with only two balls to spare. However, the defeat was no less than Peshawar deserved after a feckless first innings in which they played poor shots to throw away wickets. They were even more indolent with their running: three run-outs meaning they gifted wickets to the Kings who bowled well enough to not require assistance anyway. An ephemeral cameo from Kamran Akmal at the top aside, Peshawar struggled to score at a good enough run rate, with the crease becoming a revolving door for batsmen to waltz in and out of. Dwayne Smith was the only one to chip in with an innings of any note, responsible for 71 of Peshawar’s 131 runs. Karachi’s bowlers – particularly Mohammad Amir early on – were magnificent, setting the tone for the rest of the evening.
A late surge had given Peshawar hope of eking out a scrappy win, but Karachi were clinical when they came out. They prioritised keeping wickets in hand, knowing the run rate wasn’t going to be an issue. Joe Denly and Babar Azam kept Karachi on course, before Colin Ingram injected some impetus with a late onslaught, smashing 23 off 14 balls. A pair of late wickets and good bowling at the death meant Peshawar made it tight, but Imad Wasim’s men were never in real danger of blowing this, with the captain himself smashing the last ball for six to secure victory.
Where the match was won
Karachi Kings effectively sewed up the contest with a superb effort in the field. Once Kamran Akmal was dismissed in the second over, they kept their foot on Peshawar’s throats. No bowler was a weak link as the run rate remained well below six for nearly the entirety of the first innings. Peshawar’s self-destruct mode didn’t help; no less than three of their dismissals were run-outs, all of them spawned by particularly gormless cricket. That meant Karachi had built up a buffer against a late assault, and even though Darren Sammy’s men managed 48 in the last four overs, Karachi’s good work in the first 16 meant the target was still well within the Karachi’s reach.
More to follow…
Source: ESPN Crickinfo