KARACHI: Karachi Kings owed a huge debt to Usman Khan Shinwari for taking them through to the HBL Pakistan Super League playoffs with an unbelievable one-run victory over Quetta Gladiators at the National Stadium on Sunday.

The Kings were down and out when the Gladiators required a simple job of scoring five runs from the final over in pursuit of a 191-run target, with Ahmed Shehzad in sight of what would have been a superb century.

But the eventful over saw both Shehzad and his team denied their goals.

Usman, the Pakistan left-arm pacer, had Shehzad caught at mid-off by Colin Ingram one run shy of a century on the second ball. Anwar Ali was caught behind off the third. After Mohammad Nawaz took a single, Usman forced Gladiators captain Sarfraz Ahmed to play the penultimate delivery onto the stumps. With three still needed from the last ball, Sohail Tanvir managed to run only a leg bye.

Shinwari’s magic over takes Kings home, knocks out Qalandars

Shehzad was flawless in his stroke play as the discarded Pakistan opener adorned his 57-ball innings with eight fours and six sixes. He would have easily clinched the man-of-the-match award had Usman not turned the tide in dramatic finish.

While Usman won the award, talented Umar Khan was also a serious contender after the teenaged slow left-armer took the key wickets of Shane Watson (20), Riley Rossouw (10) and Umar Akmal (27) in another intelligent spell of 3-26 in four overs.

By virtue of this helter-skelter comeback from the never-say-die Kings, Monday’s remaining preliminary-round matches stand reduced to irrelevance because even if Lahore Qalandars defeat Multan Sultans in the first fixture, it would have no bearing on the qualifiers line-up as both teams are already out of the running.

But if the Kings succeed in defeating Peshawar Zalmi by a massive margin — a highly improbable task — then Imad Wasim’s men could have another tilt at the Gladiators in the Qualifier on Thursday. Otherwise they are slated to take on defending champions Islamabad United in the first Eliminator clash on Wednesday. The winners will face the losers of the Qualifier on Friday.

Just like the gripping encounter between Kings and Gladiators in Sharjah on Feb 22, this was equally sensational. In the Sharjah clash, Colin Ingram’s record knock of 127 had taken Kings over the line after Gladiators had made 186-5.

But here in Karachi match No28 dished out perfect T20 ingredients — another batting paradise surrounded by an outfield that was lightning fast despite receiving a burst of showers in the afternoon. And for the second time in this edition, the Gladiators ended up second despite attired in their new kit, which has been specifically prepared for home fixtures. The popular golden outline has been replaced by green on their predominantly purple-coloured apparel.

Current standings
(Tabulated under played, won, lost, points, net run-rate):
Quetta Gladiators 10 7 3 14 +0.376
Peshawar Zalmi 9 6 3 12 +0.556
Islamabad United 10 5 5 10 +0.127
Karachi Kings 9 5 4 10 -0.403
Lahore Qalandars 9 3 6 6 -0.572
Multan Sultans 9 2 7 4 -0.145

Scoreboard

KARACHI KINGS:
Babar Azam c Sarfraz b Hasnain 56
C. Munro c Sarfraz b Fawad 30
L.S. Livingstone c Umar b Nawaz 5
C.A. Ingram lbw b Hasnain 24
B.R. Dunk c Nawaz b Sohail 18
Iftikhar Ahmed not out 44
Imad Wasim not out 4

EXTRAS: (LB-5, W-4) 9
TOTAL: (for five wkts, 20 overs) 190
FALL OF WKTS: 1-69, 2-84, 3-118, 4-125, 5-156.
DID NOT BAT: Aamir Yamin, Sohail Khan, Usman Khan Shinwari, Umar Khan.
Bowling: Sohail Tanvir 4-0-46-1 (1w); Mohammad Nawaz 4-0-35-1; Bravo 4-0-34-0; Mohammad Hasnain 4-0-38-2 (3w); Fawad Ahmed 4-0-32-1.

QUETTA GLADIATORS:
S.R. Watson c sub b Umar 20
Ahmed Shehzad c Ingram b Usman 99
R.R. Rossouw st Dunk b Umar 10
Umar Akmal c Aamir b Umar 27
D.J. Bravo run out 9
Anwar Ali c Dunk b Usman 2
Sarfraz Ahmed b Usman 0
Mohammad Nawaz not out 1
Sohail Tanvir not out 0

EXTRAS (B-6, LB-4, W-11) 21
TOTAL (for seven wkts, 20 overs) 189
FALL OF WKTS: 1-68, 2-84, 3-130, 4-177, 5-187, 6-187, 7-188.
DID NOT BAT: Fawad Ahmed, Mohammad Hasnain.
BOWLING: Imad Wasim 4-0-17-0; Usman Khan Shinwari 4-0-43-3 (1w); Aamir Yamin 4-0-54-0 (6w); Sohail Khan 4-0-39-0 (2w); Umar Khan 4-0-26-3 (2w).

RESULT: Karachi Kings won by one run.
UMPIRES: Asif Yaqoob (Pakistan) and R.E.J. Martinesz (Sri Lanka).
TV UMPIRE: Ahsan Raza (Pakistan).
MATCH REFEREE: Mohammad Anees ([Pakistan).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Usman Khan Shinwari.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2019