Mills, spinners help Kings floor Gladiators in HBL PSL

DUBAI: A day after defending champions Peshawar Zalmi were floored by debutants Multan Sultans, last year’s finalists Quetta Gladiators were also made to bite the dust in the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) here at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday.

Karachi Kings, who had never managed to beat the Gladiators in the past two PSL editions, were in top gear as they throttled Quetta after opting to bat first and putting a not-so-big 149-9 on the board.

Captaining the Kings for the first time, Imad Wasim led from the front as he picked up 2-19 and with the help of pacer Mohammad Amir and Tymal Mills squeezed the life out of Quetta’s run-chase. In the end what promised to be a close encounter turned out to be pretty one-sided as the Kings, one of the most under-achieving teams in the last two editions of the PSL, began their title campaign with a 19-run triumph.

Agencies add: Kings' decision to bat raised eyebrows twice - firstly, when they ambled to 60 for 2 in the first 10 overs, and secondly when they lost their six wickets for 13 runs. But what they did in between eventually proved enough at the end, as their bowling attack - led by Imad, Amir and Mills - ensured that a 150 chase was a bridge too far for Quetta.

Quetta had slumped to 15 for 3 inside the first five overs and never really recovered. There were spurts of spunk from Umar Amin (31) and Mohammad Nawaz, whose 30 off 20 balls kept his side in the hunt. But, with 37 required off 17 balls, Amir induced a faint inside edge to have Nawaz caught behind and quash the possibility of any late uprising. Earlier, with Shahid Afridi also having chipped in with an outstanding catch at the boundary to remove Amin, Quetta, which doesn't possess the most robust middle order, entered the final phase in an even more depleted position.

That Karachi got to 149 was largely due to Colin Ingram, whose 21-ball 41 injected momentum into what had been a lethargic innings up to that point. Karachi's troubles were mainly due to Shane Watson's canny bowling, which saw him pick up three scalps to reach 200 wickets in T20 cricket. Along with Joffra Archer and Anwar Ali, Watson choked the flow of runs. Ingram and Ravi Bopara, though, counterpunched their way through the middle overs with a 48-run stand in 4.3 overs.