After winning three matches on the bounce, the defending champions Islamabad United pummelled hosts Karachi Kings in their first away game to continue their spotless run in the ongoing PSL season. It was a slow wicket and captain Shadab Khan came to the party for the United.
Islamabad United continued their fantastic season in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) with their fourth win on the bounce and the first away from home as they made short work of Karachi Kings on a slow track at the National Stadium on Sunday. Captain Shadab Khan starred for the defending champions with an all-round performance as the United first restricted the famed Kings’ line-up to just 128/7 and then, despite the ball not coming on, their batters got through the target with 17 balls to spare.
“We had picked our squad according to the conditions. The pitch didn’t behave as per our liking,” Shadab said after the match. Naseem Shah struck early with the big wicket of David Warner in the powerplay. However, the slow nature of the surface didn’t allow the batters to get off to a flyer. Jason Holder‘s striking form with the ball has been the best news for United this season as he accounted for the big breakthrough in form of James Vince in the powerplay itself.
Tim Seifert and Saad Baig did the repair job, but they failed to time the ball more often than not and resurrection was slow. “It didn’t seam much, but we assessed it pretty well. Our openers gave us a good start in the powerplay, making it difficult for the opposition. Playing across the line wasn’t easy on this wicket as the ball was keeping low,” Shadab added as the United batters took lessons from how the Kings batters played.
Abbas Afridi’s unbeaten 9-ball 24 helped the Kings get to a score in excess of 120, but the hosts knew they had a mammoth task on hand to defend a score of 128.
In-form Sahibzada Farhan got the flying start United needed to put Kings’ bowlers under pressure, while Azam Khan took his time on the other end. United too lost a couple of wickets in quick succession in the middle, but they were aware that the target wasn’t big enough and they could always take their time. Shadab, with a cool and calm head on his shoulders, got the boundaries at the right time while not playing rash, did the job with the bat after taking a couple of key wickets with the ball to steer his side to a win.
The United remained at the top of the table with eight points, while the Kings stayed in third place and scripted PSL history with nine wins in a row.
