Karachi Kings won a close match against Peshawar Zalmi by two wickets in a low-scoring contest during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi on Monday. David Warner played a key role with a half-century, while Khushdil Shah’s steady innings helped guide the team to victory.
Chasing a target of 148 runs on a tricky pitch, Karachi reached the target in the final over. Hasan Ali hit the winning boundary on the third ball of the 20th over. However, the chase didn’t start well for Karachi as Tim Seifert was dismissed on the first ball of the innings by Luke Wood. James Vince also fell early, scoring just 11 runs.
Warner steadied the innings with some small but important partnerships, including one with young Saad Baig. Warner eventually scored 60 runs from 47 balls with eight boundaries before being dismissed in the 17th over, leaving Kings needing 29 more runs.
After his dismissal, Karachi lost quick wickets and found themselves at 133 for 8. But Khushdil Shah remained calm under pressure and scored an unbeaten 23 off 17 balls to take the team over the line.
Luke Wood was the best bowler for Zalmi, taking three wickets, while Ali Raza got two, and Arif Yaqoob and Alzarri Joseph picked one each.
Earlier, Zalmi batted first and scored 147 for 8. Their captain Babar Azam led from the front with a solid knock of 46 runs from 41 balls. Zalmi had a shaky start as Saim Ayub was out early, and although Babar tried to hold the innings together, wickets kept falling at regular intervals. Mohammad Haris contributed 28 runs, while Hussain Talat added 18. Zalmi’s innings collapsed towards the end and they could not post a big total.
For Karachi, Abbas Afridi and Khushdil Shah took three wickets each, while Aamir Jamal and Mir Hamza took one each.
This win helped Karachi Kings climb to second place on the PSL 10 points table with six points from five games, while Peshawar Zalmi remained in fourth place.
