Match 14 - Alex Hales Carries Karachi Kings Home - Android

Karachi Kings (187/5) beat Islamabad United (183/3) by 5 wickets Man of the Match: Alex Hales (KK)   Karachi Kings… Read More

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Karachi Kings won the toss and elected to field first in Rawalpindi.

1st Innings

After Colin Munro’s early departure, it was a masterclass from Luke Ronchi who stepped up his game alongside captain, Shadab Khan.

After cameos from Rizwan Hussain, who was playing his first game this season, and Colin Ingram, the pair added 106 runs for the 4th wicket.

Ronchi ended with 85* from 58 balls whereas Shadab played another classy innings of 54* from 31. The innings by Ronchi has now taken him to the top of run-scoring charts, whereas Shadab leads the way in terms of the sixes hit in the tournament.

2nd Innings

It was the PSL debut for the legendary South African pacer, Dale Steyn and he did not disappoint his fans. The 36-year-old started with a maiden and thanks to Shadab, the over included a run out of Babar Azam, who walked back without facing any delivery.

Alex Hales and Cameron Delport made sure that the Kings were always ahead of the equation as they added 64 for the 3rd wicket. Karachi lost their way slightly after the youngster Ahmed Saifi removed Hales.

Steyn was brought back in to get a wicket and he did exactly that, removing Delport. Iftikhar Ahmed made a poor decision to sneak a single as Rizwan Hussain sent him back with a direct throw.

Things got slightly tense for Kings in the end, however, Hales and Delport had done the damage, which made sure that it was a walk in the park for the batsmen such as Imad Wasim and Chadwick Walton.

Pre-Match

After a disappointing washout on Saturday, the sun is out in Rawalpindi and fans are anxiously waiting to cheer for their home team. A full-house is expected once again in Rawalpindi especially considering its a Sunday. Having said that, action has wrapped up at Multan and it will now move to Lahore from 3rd March.

Karachi Kings need to get a win in today’s match to improve their chances of making it to the playoffs, otherwise, it will be a little too late. The good thing for them is that they have played only 3 matches so far whereas most of the teams have already played 5.

If Islamabad United win today, they will move to second place on the points table.

Match Details

Head-to-Head

Islamabad United are ahead with an 8-4 winning record against Karachi Kings out of the 12 matches the teams have played so far.

Playing XI

Islamabad United’s Dale Steyn will slot into the playing XI right away. The legendary fast bowler landed in Islamabad on Saturday.

Islamabad United:
Luke Ronchi (WK), Rizwan Hussain, Dawid Malan/Colin Munro, Colin Ingram, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan (C), Amad Butt, Faheem Ashraf, Ahmed Saifi Abdullah, Muhammad Musa, Dale Steyn

Karachi Kings:
Alex Hales, Babar Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Cameron Delport, Chadwick Walton (WK), Imad Wasim (C), Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Amir, Chris Jordan, Umer Khan

Players to Lookout For

Islamabad United:
Asif Ali has time and again proved his worth for Islamabad United, however, he needs to step up his game to give his team a better chance of winning the trophy for the 3rd time.

Karachi Kings:
Sharjeel Khan is an explosive batsman and if he can get going, he can dismantle any bowling attack. He needs to perform to defeat Islamabad United.

Here’s the updated PSL 2020 points table. You can find the complete PSL 2020 schedule here.

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