DUBAI: Karachi Kings extracted sweet revenge against arch rivals Lahore Qalandars by sealing a five-wicket victory in their HBL Pakistan Super League blockbuster encounter at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday night.

The Kings’ topsy-turvy campaign has both left their president Wasim Akram and head coach Mickey Arthur perplexed. But luckily, the plans worked this time to revive their playoff prospects on the back of an all-round effort from Iftikhar Ahmed.

Qalandars and Kings are still very much in the race as they occupy fourth and fifth places with six points.

Just as the encounter in Sharjah, this one turned out to be a low-scoring affair after Imad Wasim opted to bowl first. Skipper Fakhar Zaman made 18, but failed to make a big score. A.B. de Villiers found the conditions challenging as he worked his way to 33 off 32 balls.

Iftikhar, surprisingly, was given only two overs with the ball, but it was his calmness during the chase that inspired the Kings. He made 33 off 25 balls, laced with two sixes, after Liam Livingstone had laid the foundation by striking three fours and two sixes in a 34-ball 38 _ the highest score of the match.

Scoreboard

LAHORE QALANDARS:

Fakhar Zaman c Babar b Iftikhar18
Gauhar Ali c Amir b Imad4
Haris Sohail b Iftikhar20
A.B. de Villiers c Umar b Amir33
C.J. Anderson st Rizwan b Umar22
Sohail Akhtar not out29
D. Wiese not out3

EXTRAS (B-2, W-2)4
TOTAL (for five wkts, 20 overs) 133
FALL OF WKTS: 1-5, 2-42, 3-47, 4-77, 5-108.
DID NOT BAT: Yasir Shah, Haris Rauf, Aizaz Cheema, S. Lamichhane.
BOWLING: Imad Wasim 4-0-30-1; Mohammad Amir 4-0-33-1; Aamir Yamin 3-0-17-0; Summers 4-0-25-0 (2w); Iftikhar Ahmed 2-0-4-2; Umar Khan 3-0-22-1.

KARACHI KINGS:

Babar Azam b Lamichhane11
C. Munro c H. Sohail b Lamichhane15
L.S. Livingstone b Yasir38
C.A. Ingram b Haris Rauf12
Iftikhar Ahmed not out33
M. Rizwan c Fakhar b Wiese2
Imad Wasim not out19

EXTRAS (W-3, NB-1)4
TOTAL (for five wkts, 19.1 overs) 134
FALL OF WKTS: 1-21, 2-28, 3-78, 4-84, 5-97.
DID NOT BAT: Aamir Yamin, Mohammad Amir, Umar Khan, A.W. Summers.
BOWLING: Fakhar Zaman 1-0-14-0; Aizaz Cheema 3-0-32-1 (1nb); Lamichhane 4-0-17-2; Wiese 4-0-16-1; Yasir Shah 3.1-0-32-0 (1w); Haris Rauf 4-0-23-1.

UMPIRES: R.K. Illingworth (England) and Rashid Riaz (Pakistan).
TV UMPIRE: Ahsan Raza (Pakistan).
MATCH REFEREE: R.S. Mahanama (Sri Lanka).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Iftikhar Ahmed.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2019