Karachi Kings reach maiden PSL final after Super Over win against Multan Sultans

Published November 14, 2020
Karachi Kings' cricketers celebrate after winning their Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty20 cricket match against Multan Sultans at the National Stadium in Karachi on Saturday. — AFP
Karachi Kings' cricketers celebrate after winning their Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty20 cricket match against Multan Sultans at the National Stadium in Karachi on Saturday. — AFP

The Karachi Kings reached their first final on Saturday after outlasting the Multan Sultans in a thrilling tie-breaker finish as the Pakistan Super League (PSL) resumed eight months after stopping due to the pandemic.

The match at National Stadium Karachi went into a Super Over after 40 overs ended with both teams tied on 141 — thanks to Kings skipper Imad Wasim hitting a last-minute boundary.

The local team scored 13-2 in the Super Over, with the Sultans falling four runs short.

The Sultans managed a below-par 141-7 in their 20 overs after they were sent in to bat, with former England all-rounder Ravi Bopara scoring a 31-ball 40 spiced with three boundaries and a six.

The Sultans' Sohail Tanvir, a former Pakistan paceman, turned the match on its head in the 17th over as the Karachi Kings were seemingly cruising to victory, needing just 26 runs in the last four overs.

Tanvir dismissed Babar Azam off the third ball and Chadwick Walton for two.

Pakistan national captain Babar, one of the world's best white-ball batsmen, smacked a 53-ball 65, hitting two sixes and five boundaries before falling with 25 still needed.

In Saturday's second match, Lahore Qalandars beat Peshawar Zalmi by five wickets with six balls to spare in the first eliminator of PSL 2020. Qalandars will face the Sultans in the next eliminator on Sunday to decide the second finalist.

The final is scheduled for Tuesday, also in Karachi.

The fifth edition of the PSL started on February 20 but was abandoned after 30 of its 34 matches, after England player Alex Hales reported symptoms of Covid-19.

Opinion

Editorial

Paying the price
Updated 18 Apr, 2025

Paying the price

Pakistan is trapped in a relentless cycle of climate volatility.
Political solution
18 Apr, 2025

Political solution

THOUGH the BNP-M may have ended its 20-day protest sit-in outside Quetta on Wednesday, the core issues affecting...
Grave desecration
18 Apr, 2025

Grave desecration

THE desecration of 85 Muslim graves at a cemetery in Hertfordshire in the UK is a distressing act that deserves the...
Double-edged sword
Updated 17 Apr, 2025

Double-edged sword

While remittances have provided critical support to current account, they have also been a double-edged sword.
Besieged people
17 Apr, 2025

Besieged people

DESPITE all the talk about becoming a ‘hard’ state, Pakistan is still looking incredibly soft when it comes to...
Deadly zealotry
Updated 17 Apr, 2025

Deadly zealotry

Murdering people and attacking firms is indefensible and only besmirches the Palestinian cause.