Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings in a nail biting encounter by 2 runs
Islamabad United defeated Karachi Kings by 2 runs in the game 6 of Pakistan Super League which was played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.
United's Saeed Ajmal was awarded Man-of-the-Match for his splendid performance with the ball where he picked three important wicket of Kings' batsmen.
After winning the toss, Kings' captain Shoaib Malik decided to field first. United's openers - Shane Watson and Sharjeel Khan - started off well but couldn't covert the same into big knocks.
Khalid Latif was the top scorer for the United's team as he scored a patient 29-run off 35 balls. Wickets kept trumblng down on the other end and United finished with 132 for 8 on the board in their 20 overs' quota.
English international, Ravi Bopara, was the pick of the bowler in the Kings team for his economincal bowling at the rate of 6.25 and two wickets.
Chasing a modest target of 133 runs, Kings' openers Lendl Simmons and James Vince got out cheaply on 1 and 2 runs respectively.
Imad Wasim, who came one down, scored a quick-fire 29 off 17 and got out off Andre Russell's straight delivery which took edge of his bat before Sam Billings collected it behind the stumps.
Ajmal must have picked wickets, but Russell, Rumman Raees, and Mohammad Sami did a very good job with ball as they kept the run rate in control which helped in building pressure on Kings' batsmen.
In the last over of the match, Kings needed 16 runs to win. Bopara almost took his team home when he hit a six on the second last delivery of the match, but Watson - who was bowling the last over - got his yorker right in the last delivery where Bopara could only take one single when his needed 3 to win the game.
It was the much needed win for the United team who lost their first two games and were winless in the tournament.
In the after match presentation, Watson talked about his last ball yorker (which was the saviour) delivery and how important the victory was for his team.
"I just trusted my yorker on the last ball. We have lost some momentum in the last two games, this win will give us a lot of confidence going forward," Watson said.
Brief score:
ISU 132/8 (20.0 Ovs)
KRK 130/9 (20.0 Ovs)
Islamabad United won by 2 runs
Man-of-the-Match - Saeed Ajmal