Karachi hope to conquer Zalmi after toppling United

DUBAI: Imad Wasim on Wednesday night played the lead role in Karachi Kings emphatic 44-run win against defending champions Islamabad United and then announced that his team was now eyeing greater glory.

Karachi was one of the biggest flops of the inaugural PSL last year and were once again punching below their weight this season before Kieron Pollard lifted them with an incredible victory to take them into the playoffs last Sunday.

On Wednesday night in Sharjah, Karachi came back after just posting 126 in their eliminator against United on the back of brilliant spells from Imad and fellow spinner Usama Mir.

“This kind of win (against Islamabad) and the way we beat Lahore, that really lifts the game and team spirit. If you win a match like this, your morale really gets high,” Imad told reporters after the game in Sharjah.

With the win, Kings stayed on course for a place in the HBL Pakistan Super League final on Wednesday night when they knocked defending champions Islamabad United of the competition.

Karachi seemed doomed to fall short in the playoff again after Islamabad’s potent bowling arsenal restricted them to 126 but Kumar Sangakkara’s team bounced back with an even more lethal showing with the ball to set a date with Peshawar Zalmi in the last playoff. The team winning Friday night’s game in Dubai will meet Quetta Gladiators in the final at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.

The heroes for Karachi were their spin trio of Imad Wasim (3-18), Usama Mir (3-24) and Mohammad Amir (3-7). Asif Ali with 39 off 36 balls was the only Islamabad batsman to show some resistance as the other flopped miserably in a chase of just 127 at a stadium that is known for its high-scoring encounter. Only two Islamabad batsmen could reach double figures. Captain Misbah-ul-Haq being the other one with 13 off 13.

It was the lowest total that was successfully defended in the PSL.

Earlier, Karachi never managed to recover from back-to-back maiden overs at the start of their innings by Islamabad’s pace duo of Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Sami. After 13 consecutive dots, Babar Azam did try to lift the innings with four consecutive fours of the third over bowled by Irfan. But that over was the only high point of the Karachi innings which lacked the sort of aggression that is needed in Twenty20 game especially at a high-scoring venue like Sharjah. Babar (25 off 21) and Gayle (17 off 5) did add 42 off 34 balls but their fall in quick succession left Karachi in trouble. Then onwards most of their batsmen did get starts but could not really get off in the face of some excellent bowling by Islamabad.

Rumman was in his element especially after getting the prized scalp of the dangerous Gayle. He then took three wickets in the 19th over including that of Kieron Pollard, the man who knocked down Islamabad in their previous PSL clash in Dubai with sixes off the last two balls. Rumman wasn’t the only Islamabad bowler to shine on a cool Sharjah night. All five bowlers tried by Misbah-ul-Haq bowled according to the plan. Sami was once again at his best as he finished with 2-19 in 3.4 overs. Shane Watson bagged 2-29 while young spinner Shadab Khan (1-23) was very impressive. Shoaib Malik (25 off 23 balls) was the other main contributor for Karachi.

Score Board

Islamabad United won toss

Karachi Kings

Babar Azam lbw b Shadab   25

C H Gayle b Raees    17

*†K C Sangakkara c Misbah b Watson       17

Shoaib Malik run out  25

R S Bopara c Shadab b Watson      14

K A Pollard c Shadab b Raees         5

Imad Wasim c Asif b Raees  14

Sohail Khan b Raees  0

Mohammad Amir not out     2

Usama Mir c Raees b Sami   1

Usman Khan b Sami  0

Extras (lb 2, w 4)     6

Total (all out; 19.4 overs)    126

Fall: 1-42, 2-42, 3-76, 4-100, 5-105, 6-122, 7-122, 8-123, 9-125, 10-126

Bowling: Irfan 4-1-28-0(1w); Sami 3.4-1-19-2; Raees 4-0-25-4(1w); Shadab 4-0-23-1; Watson 4-0-29-2(2w)

Islamabad United

D R Smith c Sangakkara b Amir      8

Asif Ali c Sangakkara b Usama       39

†B J Haddin b Amir    0

*Misbah-ul-Haq b Imad        13

S R Watson b Imad   8

Shadab Khan c Bopara b Usama     1

N Pooran lbw b Imad 1

Amad Butt b Sohail   7

Mohammad Sami lbw b Usama       0

Rumman Raees c Pollard b Amir     0

Mohammad Irfan not out     0

Extras (lb 1, w 4)     5

Total (all out; 15.2 overs)    82

Fall: 1-12, 2-12, 3-47, 4-61, 5-69, 6-70, 7-77, 8-77, 9-82, 10-82

Bowling: Amir 2.2-0-7-3; Usman 2-0-11-0; Sohail 3-0-21-1(1w); Imad 4-0-18-3(1w); Usama 4-0-24-3(2w)

Result: Karachi Kings won by 44 runs

Man of the Match: Imad Wasim (Karachi Kings)

Umpires: R E J Martinesz (Sri Lanka) and Shozab Raza (Pakistan). TV umpire: Ahsan Raza (Pakistan). Match referee: R S Mahanama (Sri Lanka)