Kings crumble as clinical Qalandars fly high in one-sided showdown

KARACHI: It wasn’t the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2025 El Classico the fans had hoped for.

One-sided, tame, and lifeless was the Karachi Kings’ reply to a daunting 202-run target set by the Lahore Qalandars, as they were bowled out for just 136 – draining all the excitement from what was billed as a nail-biting thriller here at the National Bank Stadium on Tuesday night. Thanks to Khushdil Shah’s 39 and Hasan Ali’s 27, who took the home team to 140 after it seemed they might be bowled out under 100, eventually losing the PSL 2025 sixth match by 65 runs. Fakhar Zaman was adjudged the player of the match for the magnificent 76 off 47 balls.

While chasing, the David Warner-led side was 50-7 at one stage, as Shaheen Afridi’s two-wicket burst in the opening over led to their batting line collapsing like a house of cards. Shaheen had his mojo back in the rivalry-feud encounter, dismissing Warner on the second ball after he edged a catch to the wicketkeeper on a wide delivery. James Vince was bowled out by a jagging delivery that hit the stumps. What people expected to be a game of fine margins emerged as the opposite, as Bangladesh’s spinner Rishad Hossain also proved to be a fire in the arm for the home side.

After Asif removed Tim Seifert for 18 in the seventh over, it was Rishad’s turn to show his magic. He took two scalps in the eighth over, removing Shan Masood and Irfan Niazi. The miseries soared for the side that roared against Multan Sultans three nights ago after Arafat Minhas and Abbas Afridi were shown the door, leaving the Kings seven down for just 50.

But Khushdil and Hasan’s 52-run partnership took the Kings above 100, as they unleashed a barrage of big hits before Shaheen dismissed the latter for 27. Khushdil scored 39 off 27 balls with four fours and two sixes, as Haris Rauf ended his resistance in the 19th over, while Sikandar Raza took the last scalp of Adam Milne. For Qalandars, Shaheen and Rishad took three wickets apiece, while Asif and Haris took one. Sikandar took two.

Batting first, the Qalandars had a wobbly start on a slow and greenish pitch but ended their innings with an imposing total of 201. The duo of Fakhar Zaman and New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell stood up for the Qalandars in a high-stakes match that could set the tone for the rest of the season. Fakhar scored 76, while Mitchell laced 75, stitching a 140-run third-wicket partnership in 14 overs.

The 14th over brought 16 runs for the Qalandars before Fakhar was shown the hut two overs later by Hasan. After that, Sam Billings, who scored 19, chipped in with two fours and a six, while Mitchell struck a six and a four in the second last over before getting dismissed the next ball by Abbas Afridi.

In the final over, Sikandar Raza smashed two fours to take his team to above 200. For the Kings, Hasan took four for 28 in four overs. Apart from Hasan, Milne conceded 31 without any wicket, Abbas Afridi went for 47 with a wicket, while Khushdil Shah, Arafat Minhas, and Fawad Ali registered economy rates above ten.