PSL 2017, Match 18, Review: Pollard show wins it for Karachi Kings in a last ball thriller

The second edition of the PSL has reached the business end. The 18th match of the season was on the cards as the two bottom placed teams locked horns in the all important fixture at Dubai. Karachi Kings had everything at stake as they needed a win to stay in the hunt for the playoffs. For the Lahore Qalandars, a defeat wouldn’t have totally written them off from the tournament. Amidst such a backdrop, the two skippers walked in for the toss.

It was Karachi Kings skipper Kumar Sangakkara who got lucky with the toss and opted to bowl first. For the first time in the season, Mahela Jayawardene was brought in the line up. The big Jamaican Chris Gayle had to make way for him. The other two overseas players for Kings except the Sri Lankan veteran duo were Kieron Pollard and Ravi Bopara. The Lahore Qalandars, on the other hand, stuck to their same overseas combination.

In walked Cameron Delport and Brendon McCullum to open the innings for the Qalandars. They were in for a shocker as Mohammad Amir got the priced scalp of Delport in the very first over on 4. Fakhar Zaman and McCullum then added 36 runs for the second wicket before Zaman was sent back on 19 (15) by Sohail Khan. This brought Umar Akmal to the crease. The lackluster series for Akmal continued as he struggled for his 22-ball 20. However, he gave some support to McCullum while at the crease.

McCullum departed after scoring 31 off 28 deliveries in the 10th over as the Qalandars had only 71/3 at the half way stage. In a surprising move, Sunil Narine was promoted up the order and he joined Akmal at the crease. The move worked to some extent as Narine blasted 2 sixes before being dismissed by Shoaib Malik on 16 (9). Akmal then made the long walk back as he ended up giving a catch to Babar Azam off the bowling of Usama Mir.

Some brisk hitting by Mohammad Rizwan (32* off 24 balls) and Sohail Tanvir (22* off 14 balls) took Lahore Qalandars to 155/6 in their 20 overs. Shoaib Malik was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/21 in 4 overs.

The run chase began with Jayawardene walking in to bat with Babar Azam. The Sri Lankan looked good for his one boundary before being run out on 10 by Mohammad Rizwan. Skipper Sangakkara came in to replace him. Sanga and Azam then added a crucial 53 runs for the second wicket. While the skipper had a struggling time, Azam’s bat saw free flow of the runs. This sort of balanced things for the Kings. The partnership was eventually broken in the 12th over when Narine saw the back of Sangakkara on 20 (23).

Azam, who looked good for his 42-ball 49, departed in the very next over to see the Kings struggling. Some horrendous running between the wickets saw Shoaib Malik and Bopara get run out in quick succession too. At 103/5 in 15.2 overs, things looked grim for the Kings. Imad Wasim and Kieron Pollard then led the fightback which ended up being as a nail biting finish. 53 was needed off 28 deliveries when Pollard stepped in to bat.

The big West Indies batsmann clobbered the Qalandars to all parks to bring the equation down to 14 runs off the final over. It got all intense as the last two deliveries demanded 10 to get. Aamer Yamin was the bowler as he ran in to bowl to Pollard. The six hitting machine smashed two sixes – one over extra cover and the other over mid-wicket – to seal the match for the Kings. Pollard remained unbeaten on 45 off 20 deliveries with a four and 4 sixes while Wasim scored 19* off 14 deliveries. Karachi Kings won by 5 wickets. They will play their last league game against Islamabad United now.

Brief Scores:

Lahore Qalandars 155/6 in 20 overs (Rizwan 32*, McCullum 31, Malik 2/21, Mir 2/38)

Karachi Kings 158/5 in 20 overs (Azam 49, Pollard 45*, Zaman 1/3, Narine 1/19)

19.6 SIX! Aamer Yamin to Kieron Pollard
watch https://t.co/VKqPxYves5#KKvLQ #HBLPSL #AbKhelJamayGa pic.twitter.com/WFCbbCr5J7

— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 25, 2017