The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
That will be that here from the PSL for the day! We will see you tomorrow as there is another game coming up with Quetta taking on Peshawar. A whole lot of other action from around the globe awaits you at Sportskeeda. For now, this is Sourabh and Lavil wishing you a good night, Ciao!
Shadab Khan (Islamabad United captain) - It was a tough decision to rest both the main bowlers, but that was the plan, to rest them as we had games on consecutive days. Imad Wasim is one of our senior players and it was wonderful the way he bowled tonight. Faheem Ashraf is our crisis man and performed really well for us, he has a very good record at Pindi and we were always going to back him here. We love playing against all teams, not just Karachi Kings.
Faheem Ashraf (Player of the match) - Initially, the management was utilizing the players according to the pitches. I was told that I will play a big role in Pindi. It gives you confidence when the captain and the management speak to you like that. When you perform in one department as an all-rounder, you definitely get the confidence in other departments. We were missing our key bowlers, so it was important for me to step up and not let the team miss our main bowlers.
Time for the post-match presentations!
Shan Masood (Karachi Kings captain) : I think we were off to a decent start, in my mind I was looking at 170 as a total, although it would have been a good total. When you choose a team with new players, it is often tough. I'll put my hand up and say I didn't bat well. We were 15 runs short, did well in consecutive games and gave Islamabad United a tough fight. We have two crunch games coming up and cannot rely on only one guy (Pollard). Mir Hamza was unlucky at the start of last year's PSL. He came from his finger fracture and did well in the domestic circuit and on the tour to Australia, also proving what he can do with the white ball. We are doing well as a fielding unit and as a bowling unit but we need to improve with our batting
Haider Ali: I finished it nicely, if the batters above you set the chase nicely, as Agha bhai and Shadab bhai did and get a 100-run partnership then I and Azam were there to end the game. I do not have a preferred position, the team needed a finisher and played me there so I'm happy. Faheem didn't play well in the first couple of games, he came to the crease and said that if we stayed in the middle for longer, we could end the game and win it. Credit to Hanif bhai for my power-hitting (as translated from Urdu)
MATCH SUMMARY
Islamabad United won by 5 wickets
Shadab Khan 34(26) | Tymal Mills 3/34(4) Kieron Pollard 39(28) | Mir Hamza 3/41(4)
Just not enough runs on the board for Karachi Kings as Islamabad United get to the target in a convincing way with 8 deliveries to spare and have now made it 8 consecutive wins against Karachi Kings. As a result, they have jumped to the second spot in the points table while Karachi Kings, on the other hand, will have to depend on other results to have any hope of getting through to the playoffs.
Even though Islamabad lost both their openers to Mir Hamza, who was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets, in the powerplay, they scored at a brisk rate and did not allow the pressure to build up. After that, it was a calming partnership of 58 runs between Agha Salman and skipper Shadab Khan which made sure that the game was all but won for them.
However, there was a little stutter towards the end with 3 wickets falling in the space of 3 overs, but Haider Ali and Faheem Ashraf applied the finishing touches and took their team over the line.
Earlier in the piece, it was the same story with the bat for Karachi Kings as they kept on losing wickets in their batting effort. Even though Kieron Pollard scored a powerful 39, he did not have enough support from the other end.
A lot of that should be credited to the bowling from Islamabad United. Faheem Ashraf was spectacular and he started it all for them, Tymal Mills also joined the action and scalped 3 wickets along with an excellent spell from Imad Wasim.
18.4 Hasan Ali to Haider Ali, ONE RUN! ISLAMABAD UNITED WIN! Back of a length delivery on the line of the off stump, Haider pulls that one towards square leg and picks up the single, which propels them to the top half of the table. Islamabad United win by 5 wickets and get to the second place on the points table
That is one of the shots of the match from Haider Ali. Just 1 needed now
18.3 Hasan Ali to Haider Ali, SIX! AUDACIOUS! Length delivery on the line of the off stump, Haider Ali steps down the track and sends it sailing way back into the crowd for a game-sealing maximum. Scores level
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Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
