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Karachi Kings suffered their sixth defeat from their opening eight games this season as Islamabad United pulled off a thrilling six-wicket win in the 19th match of Pakistan Super League 2023 on March 3. Imad Wasim’s knock of 92* off 54 helped Kings score a big total but Azam Khan played another monstrous knock to earn United the crucial two points.
Imad won the toss for Karachi Kings and elected to bat first at Rawalpindi’s Pindi Cricket Ground. Kings made two changes to their playing XI while United introduced Alex Hales, Mubasir Khan, and Rumman Raees to their starting XI.
Raees clean bowled Sharjeel for just eight runs to give United a good start but Adam Rossington and Tayyab Tahir quickly balanced the game with a crucial stand for the second wicket.
Kings threw away a good start with three back-to-back wickets and were struggling at 78/4 in nine overs. But Imad smashed 92 *off 54 and Irfan Khan added crucial 30 runs to guide Kings to 201/5 in 20 overs. Tom Curran took two wickets while Raees, Hasan Ali, and Faheem Ashraf bagged one each for United.
Munro started United’s innings with back-to-back boundaries but lost his wicket in the first over. Hales and Rassie van der Dussen added a quick 50-run partnership for the second wicket to level up the field but once again Kings took control of the game with the wickets of both batters in successive overs.
But young wicketkeeper batter Azam Khan and Faheem pulled off a memorable stand of 125 runs for the fourth wicket to earn a thrilling last-over win. Faheem scored a valuable 41 off 32 before getting run out when United needed eight runs to win from the last six deliveries. But Azam’s 72* off 41 guided Islamabad United to a crucial win with four balls to spare. They remain in the third position with eight points, on a level with second-placed Multan Sultans, and just two points behind table leaders Lahore Qalandars.
What’s next for both teams?
Islamabad United next face bottom-placed Quetta Gladiators on March 5 in Rawalpindi while Karachi Kings will clash against Gladiators on March 6 at the same venue in a must-win game.
