PSL 2018, Match 30 Review: Karachi Kings win the final league game; Multan gets a cold shoulder

To what has been an enthralling edition of the PSL, it needed a fitting finish and the Karachi Kings managed to so in the final league game. They defeated Islamabad United comprehensively and rode through to the playoffs in style. Also, they managed to knock out the Multan Sultans, who were considered one of the favorites to lift the title 10-15 days ago.

After the high-scoring thriller between Peshawar Zalmi and Lahore Qalandars, it was evident that the pitch would be a little on the slower side. Henceforth, when the Karachi Kings won the toss, they had no hesitation to bowl first. The Kings and the Sultans were tied on points before this game and if the former had lost this game by a decent margin Multan would’ve gone through.

The bowlers provided an ideal start for their skipper Eoin Morgan. Usman Khan removed the in-form JP Duminy and Mohammad Irfan got the big fish Alex Hales. United’s captain Misbah and Windies cricketer Chadwick Walton tried to steady the ship by approaching the innings cautiously. But that didn’t go well as their partnership ended after registering 35 runs and the scoring rate had come under 6.

The fast bowling contingent of Usman Khan, Mohammed Amir and Tymal Mills bowled excellently. They barely gave anything away and even the veteran Shahid Afridi was sensational. Asif Ali’s 14-ball 34 was the only good talking point from the batting point of view in the first innings. After Tymal Mills put a full stop to his show, they surrendered quite easily.

Islamabad registered 124 runs in 19 overs before getting bowled out. Usman Khan returned with figures of 4/17 whilst Afridi got 2 wickets and gave away just 18 runs. Mohammad Irfan picked up  a brace as well, but was a tad expensive.

Ingram and Denly propel the Kings to the playoffs

It was not a huge total and with momentum on their side, it had to be a walk in the park for the Karachi contingent. Unfortunately for the table-toppers Islamabad, they suffered s demoralizing defeat just before the all-important business end commences. It’ll be interesting to see how they will approach in their next game, which incidentally will be against the same opponents.

Khurran Manzoor was off to a nice start, but lost his composure in an attempt to score runs quickly. Denly maintained his composure and batted for a decent amount of time in the middle. He and Babar Azam stitched an important partnership for the 2nd wicket. Their 36-run stand came at a decent speed and they were inching closer to the finish line.

After Denly’s wicket, skipper Morgan fell almost immediately. This probably was the only few minutes in the entire game when the United had an upper hand. But that lasted for a very short period as Ingram joined Azam and the duo did what was correct at that point.

The required rate was not too high, so they decided to get to the mark without taking any risks. They took their own time and eventually, Kings won the game by 7 wickets. The Qualifier will take place on Tuesday between Karachi and Islamabad, post which the spotlight will shift to Lahore and Karachi.

Brief Scores

Islamabad United: 124 all out in 19 overs (Asif Ali 34; Usman Khan 4/17, Shahid Afridi 2/18)

Karachi Kings: 125/3 in 17 overs (Joe Denly 36, Colin Ingram 31*; Faheem Ashraf 1/13)

Player of the match: Usman Khan