LAHORE – Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings by one run in match number 21 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Monday.
Earlier, Islamabad United set a 192-run target for Karachi Kings.
Babar Azam-led Karachi Kings had won the toss and decided to bowl first.
With six back-to-back defeats in the seventh edition of the flagship T20 tournament, Karachi will come into the field with not many options against two-time champions Islamabad United.
Languishing at the last of the points table, the Karachi squad struggled to pick wickets in previous games as they remain winless in the ongoing competition.
Star opener Babar Azam remained the top run-scorer for Kings with 194 runs at a strike rate of 118. He struck 23 boundaries and one six. Medium-fast pacer Umaid Asif has garnered attention as he performed well with an economy rate of 7.42.
Meanwhile, another defeat will eliminate Karachi Kings from the race to play-offs however, a win will keep their hopes alive.
Your #Sherus🦁 will be up against Karachi Kings tomorrow!
🏟 Gaddafi Stadium Lahore
⌚️ 7:00 PMSend in your wishes for your #RedHotSquad!#IUvKK #HBLPSL7 #UnitedWeWin pic.twitter.com/22bOveav49
— Islamabad United (@IsbUnited) February 13, 2022
On the other hand, team Islamabad has played six games so far, winning three and losing as many. Shadab and the team will enter today’s game as favorites as both current forms and statistical history favor them.
Both the sides will enter this match after being defeated in their last games. United were earlier thrashed by Quetta Gladiators while Karachi Kings were outclassed by Zalmi.
Squads
Karachi Kings: Babar Azam, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nabi, Joe Clarke, Sharjeel Khan, Aamer Yamin, Chris Jordan, Lewis Gregory, Umaid Asif, Ian Cockbain, Rohail Nazir, Muhammad Imran, Faisal Akram, Qasim Akram, Talha Ahsan, Tom Lammonby, Usman Shinwari, Sahibzada Farhan, Jordan Thompson and Mohammad Taha Khan.
Islamabad United: Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Alex Hales, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Azam Khan, Colin Munro, Marchant de Lange, Muhammad Akhlaq, Danish Aziz, Zafar Gohar, Mubasir Khan, M. Zeeshan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ather Mehmood, Musa Khan, Zahir Khan, Mohammad Huraira and Liam Dawson.
PSL7, Match 18 – Quetta Gladiators beat Islamabad United by five wickets
