Babar, spinners guide Karachi Kings to first win

SHARJAH: It took a freakishly wet spell in Sharjah for the Karachi Kings to end their dry run in the second edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League on Friday night.

That and a match-winning knock from Babar Azam which followed an impressive display from the Karachi spinners.

The talented Babar smashed a whirlwind 47* off 30 balls to make sure that Karachi will record their first victory of this year’s competition. They beat defending champions Islamabad United by eight runs (D/L method) in a match that was badly hit by wet weather.

The Kings were chasing Islamabad’s 90 for 8 and were 75 for 4 in 9.4 overs when rain finally had the last laugh.

Karachi won the toss and elected to field in a match reduced to 18 overs due to rain. It turned out to be an important toss to win.

Sam Billings, the hero of their last match win over Quetta Gladiators through an unbeaten 78, fell for a duck. Imad Wasim trapped him LBW with an arm ball. He struck again to have Brad Haddin caught and bowled for 6. Misbah and Smith took the score to 34-2 in 7.1 over when rain stopped play. Islamabad could manage 90-8 in their 13 overs. Dwayne Smith 29 and Shane Watson 26 were the chief run-getters for Islamabad while Imad Wasim 2 for 15, Usama Mir 2 for 10 were the pick of the Karachi bowlers.

Karachi’s start was far from ideal as their star opener Chris Gayle flopped again. He was caught at third man by Mohammad Sami off Mohammad Irfan for 2 in the very first over. Irfan also scalped Kumar Sangakkara for 2.

Shoaib Malik (6) lasted only nine balls before Imran Khalid had him caught at third man by Saeed Ajmal off an outside edge.

When Karachi needed 20 runs from 20 balls with six wickets in hand, rain stopped play again. They were ahead of DLS par score and were declared winners of the match.

Islamabad slip to fourth after their defeat, falling behind Lahore on net run-rate with both teams level on four points. Karachi are at the bottom of the table, with this being their only win in four games so far.

Score Board

Karachi Kings won toss

Islamabad United

D R Smith c Sangakkara b Usama   29

S W Billings lbw b Imad       0

†B J Haddin c & b Imad       6

*Misbah-ul-Haq c Babar b Usama    16

S R Watson run out   26

Imran Khalid run out 1

Asif Ali c Sangakkara b Usman       5

M Sami run out        1

Shadab Khan not out 1

Extras (lb 1, w 4)     5

Total (8 wickets; 13 overs)  90

Did not bat: Saeed Ajmal, M Irfan

Fall: 1-1, 2-10, 3-49, 4-59, 5-83, 6-88, 7-88, 8-90

Bowling: Imad 3-0-15-2; Amir 3-0-28-0 (4w); Usman 2-0-12-1; Kashif 2-0-24-0; Usama 3-0-10-2

Karachi Kings

C H Gayle c Sami b Irfan     2

Babar Azam not out  47

*†K C Sangakkara b Irfan    2

Shoaib Malik c Saeed b Imran        6

R S Bopara run out   1

Imad Wasim not out  8

Extras (lb 7, w 1, nb 1)       9

Total (4 wickets; 9.4 overs) 75

Did not bat: K A Pollard, Kashif Bhatti, M Amir, Usama Mir, Usman Khan

Fall: 1-2, 2-20, 3-49, 4-54

Bowling: Irfan 3-0-7-2; Sami 1-0-18-0 (1nb); Imran 2-0-10-1; Shadab 1-0-14-0; Saeed 1.4-0-10-0 (1w); Watson 1-0-9-0

Result: Karachi Kings won by 8 runs (D/L method)

Points: Karachi Kings 2, Islamabad United 0

Man of the Match: Babar Azam (Karachi Kings)

Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and R K Illingworth (England). TV umpire: Shozab Raza (Pakistan). Match referee: R S
Mahanama (Sri Lanka)