Karachi Kings down Qalandars to record consolation win

LAHORE: Karachi Kings pulled high-flying Lahore Qalandars down to earth in the 30th and last league game of the HBL Pakistan Super League-8 here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.

After winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Karachi Kings set a target of 197 runs for Qalandars. The table toppers Lahore Qalandars were all out for 110 in 18.5 overs. Thus Karachi won by 86 runs -- a consolation while exiting the tournament.

Karachi Kings posted 196 for seven after they decided to bat first. They rode on the batting prowess of right-handed opener Muhammad Akhlaq, Tayyab Tahir, Imad Wasim and Ben Cutting. Later their attacked screwed the bolts on Qalandars, who were entirely opposite of the team that had been smashing every opposition.

This was Qalandars’ third defeat during the current season and second at the hands of Karachi Kings.

In the absence of their skipper Shaheen Shah, they leaked useless runs with sloppy bowling and then their batting was nothing less than a house of cards. They lost their opening wicket at 16 (that of their in-form batter Fakhar Zaman at 13) in the third over.

They conceded the second wicket of Abdullah Shafique (2) at 20. At 31, Kamran Ghulam (11) became the third wicket of Qalandars to fall. As hopes rested on Sam Billings, he became the fourth casualty for 11 runs and Lahore were 54 for four.

Even the partnership between Hussain Talat and David Wiese, the stand-in captain, did not last long and the South African batsman (2) was the fifth Qalandar to go back to the pavilion. Hussain (25) before his fall in the 13th over saw Shane Dadswell (3) become the victim of Imran Tahir, who also took Hussain’s wicket and Lahore were 74 for seven in 13 overs. Hussain hit four fours.

Dilbar Hussain was the next to go, leaving Qalandars at 88 for eight in the 17th over. Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan took the score to 110. But Haris at 18 gifted his wicket to Umar his second wicket.

Imad Wasim, Imran Tahir and Akif Javed and Mohammad Umar took two wickets each and James Fuller had one.

Earlier, opener Akhlaq knitted a magnificent half-century on debut while Tayyab Tahir and Imad Wasim with their blistering innings set up a daunting target for Lahore Qalandars.

Having lost their opener Haider Ali for eight in the very first over, Kings rode on the fluency of runs from the bats of Akhlaq, Tayyab and Imad.

Akhlaq top-scored with 51 runs in 36 balls with five fours and two sixes. Tayyab grabbed quick-fire 40 runs while Imad added 45 runs.

Karachi Kings in their first powerplay produced 68 runs while losing one wicket as their 50 runs in 25 balls. They also developed 70 runs for the second wicket when Akhlaq and Tayyab Tahir opted for some quick boundaries.

Having lost Tayyab for 41 at team’s 79 in the eighth over to Hussain Talat, Akhlaq brought Kings’ 100 runs in the 10th over while pairing up with Imad. Akhlaq reached his half century in 34 balls and after an addition of another single to his score, he became the first casualty of Haris Rauf. In his 36 balls innings he hit five boundaries and two hits above the ropes.

Imad and Ben Cutting showed aggression and maintained the runs flow. Imad took 31 balls to reach 45 while Ben for his 33 took 14 balls. As Imad hit six boundaries, Ben cut the ball across the ropes five times, three times over it.

By the start of the 17th over, Karachi Kings were 150 runs. During the last five overs they hit 60 runs and lost three wickets -- Imad, Cutting and Irfan Khan -- while James Fuller remained not out at 10 and Mohammad Umar at 1.

Score Board

Karachi Kings won the toss

Karachi Kings Innings

Haider c Ghulam b Hussain 8

Akhlaq † c Wiese b Haris 51

Tahir c Hussain b Hussain 40

Akram c Dadswell b Hussain 2

Wasim (c) b Zaman Khan 45

Cutting lbw b Haris 33

Irfan c Hussain b Zaman 0

James not out 10

Mohammad Umar not out 1

Extras: (nb 1, w 5) 6

Total: 20 Ov (RR: 9.80) 196/7

Fall: 1-9, 2-79, 3-83, 4-117 (Muhammad Akhlaq, 12.4 ov), 5-169 (Imad Wasim, 17.5 ov), 6-185 (Ben Cutting, 18.4 ov), 7-191 (Irfan Khan, 19.2 ov)

Bowling: Dilbar Hussain 3-0-37-1, Zaman Khan 4-0-39-2, Haris Rauf 4-0-52-2, David Wiese 1-0-6-0, Rashid Khan 4-0-30-0, Hussain Talat 3-0-24-2, Shane Dadswell 1-0-8-0

Lahore Qalandars Innings

Zaman c Cutting b Umar 13

Shafique c Tayyab b Akif 2

Ghulam b Akif Javed 11

Billings † c † Akhlaq b Fuller 11

Talat c Cutting b Imran 25

David (c) c Irfan b Imad 2

Shane c Irfan Khan b Imran 3

Rashid Khan retired hurt 6

Haris c Fuller b Mohammad Umar 18

Dilbar Hussain b Imad Wasim 8

Zaman Khan not out 6

Extras: (lb 3, w 2) 5

Total: 18.5 Ov (RR: 5.84) 110

Fall: 1-16 (Fakhar Zaman, 2.2 ov), 2-20 (Abdullah Shafique, 3.6 ov), 3-31 (Kamran Ghulam, 5.3 ov), 4-54 (Sam Billings, 8.4 ov), 5-66 (David Wiese, 11.1 ov), 6-71 (Shane Dadswell, 12.1 ov), 7-74 (Hussain Talat, 12.6 ov), 7-79* (Rashid Khan, retired hurt), 8-88 (Dilbar Hussain, 15.5 ov), 9-110 (Haris Rauf, 18.5 ov)

Bowling: Imad Wasim 4-0-26-2, Akif Javed 3-0-8-2, Mohammad Umar 3.5-0-20-2, James Fuller 4-0-29-1,

Imran Tahir 4-0-24-2

Result: Kings won by 86 runs

Player of the match: M. Akhlaq

Umpires: Aleem Dar, Rashid Riaz