LAHORE: The Lahore Qalandars thrashed Karachi Kings with an eight-wicket victory in the PSL 2020 clash between the two sides on Sunday.
The Qalandars chased down the 188-run target set by the Kings comfortably courtesy the onslaught of sixes by Ben Dunk, who sent the ball flying a massive 12 times, including the final shot of the match.
Dunk fell short of a century, however managing to amass 99 runs off just 40 deliveries.
Sohail Akhtar was the other big hitter who scored 68 off 46 balls.
Both remained standing till the end of the innings, which came at 19.1 overs.
The sole two wickets claimed by the Karachi Kings were those of Fakhar Zaman, bowled out by Mohammad Amir for a duck and Mohammad Hafeez (16 runs off 24 balls) caught by Cameron Delport off Umer Khan’s delivery.
The outcome has given both sides a decent chance to qualify for the top 4. Karachi Kings are placed at the fourth spot with seven points while Lahore Qalandars are in fifth place with six points.
Karachi Kings innings
The Kings’ game was propelled by Alex Hales and Chadwick Walton who scored 80 and 45 respectively. The high-octane first innings saw Hales and Walton hit five 6s each.
Prior to the partnership between the two, the side experienced a steady fall of wickets — five to be precise.
Sharjeel Khan was the first man dismissed, run out by wicketkeeper Wiese off Shaheen Afridi’s ball at 2.4 overs.
The second to go was Babar Azam (38 off 29), caught at extra cover by Sohail Akhtar off Maaz Khan’s delivery at 8.5 overs. The wicket marked Maaz’s first of the tournament.
The youngster struck again at 1.2 overs, when he bowled and caught Delport, who went after scoring 15 off 13 balls.
Delport’s replacement, Iftikhar Ahmed, was the next to go. He was run out off Fakhar Zaman’s delivery. His contribution to the total was a mere run.
The fifth wicket taken was that of Walton’s who put up an impressive stand of 45 off 20 before he was taken out by Salman Arshad’s delivery.
The Qalandars had won the toss and elected to field first, leaving the Kings to set the match target.