By Alam Zeb Safi
LAHORE: Skipper David Warner hit a solid unbeaten fifty while Khushdil Shah played an explosive unbeaten knock to enable Karachi Kings keep alive when they conquered Lahore Qalandars by five wickets in their crucial HBL PSL 11 game at the Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday.
Set to chase 200, Kings needed 34 in the last three overs and in the 18th over Khushdil Shah hit Shaheen Afridi for three glorious sixes and one four and the over yielded 23 runs. Khushdil then hit Haris Rauf for two successive sixes in the next over to seal the fate of the match in favour of Kings.
Khushdil remained not out on a blistering 14-ball 44 which featured five sixes and two fours.
Khushdil dominated the 57-run sixth wicket unbroken partnership with skipper David Warner who remained not out on a 44-ball 63. Warner, who brought in his second fifty of the season off 39 balls, smacked nine fours and one six in his 44-ball responsible knock.
Earlier Kings lost Jason Roy (9) early when he was removed by Ubaid Shah in the second over when he gloved a short-pitched delivery to keeper Haseebullah. Roy hit two fours from five balls.
Ubaid Shah then had Reeza Hendricks (10) cheaply to leave Kings reeling at 39-2 in the fifth over.
Agha Salman joined David Warner but Pakistan’s T20 captain, who is out of form, once again failed to click when he was removed by Haris Rauf in his first over for a 15-ball 14 which carried two fours and Kings were 69-3 in the ninth over. Salman also got a chance when he was dropped by keeper Haseebullah at the start of his innings. Moeen Ali was promoted in the batting order. And the England all-rounder dominated the 58-run fourth wicket partnership with his skipper Warner to keep Kings alive in the game.
It was Ubaid Shah who got rid of Moeen after he scored an explosive 17-ball 39 which featured four sixes and one four.
When Moeen departed Kings were 127-4 in the 14th over. Hard-hitting batsman Azam Khan joined Warner but he failed to go deep and was bowled by Daniel Sams for an eight-ball 14, hitting one four and one six.
Ubaid Shah was the pick of the bowlers with 3-41.
Shaheen Afridi gave away 51 runs in his quota of four overs while Haris Rauf (1-36 in 3.4overs) also remained unimpressive.
Earlier explosive fifties from Abdullah Shafique (62) and Fakhar Zaman (61) powered Lahore Qalandars to 199-6.
After being put into bat first Fakhar took a centre stage to pave way for posting a decent total.
After losing Mohammad Farooq for a 15-ball 18 in the fourth over as a result of a big run out Fakhar added 110 runs for the second wicket association with Abdullah Shafique who was seen in excellent touch following a few bad matches.
Fakhar, who brought in his fifty off 28 balls, was eventually removed by Moeen Ali, held in the deep by Jason Roy, to end the partnership.
Fakhar, dropped by Jason Roy off Zahid Mahmood on 43, smashed three sixes and five fours in his 41-ball 61.
This was the third successive fifty from the left-hander who also has to his credit hundred in his previous game.
Fakhar was seen in attacking mood right from the start and he hit rookie pacer Rizwanullah for three fours and a six in the fifth over which yielded 23 runs.
Earlier Farooq, who belongs to Kurram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, plundered 18 runs in the third over by smashing left-armer Mohammad Hamza for two successive sixes and a four before being run out by David Warner.
Abdullah Shafique, who brought in his first fifty of the season, off 28 balls, smashed three sixes and five fours in his 36-ball 62.
Daniel Sams in the end smashed a fiery nine-ball 20 with two sixes while Sikandar Raza chipped in with a 12-ball 18 not out, also hitting a fine six to add to his team total.
Moeen Ali was the pick of the bowlers with 2-26 in four overs while Hasan Ali (1-32) and Rizwanullah (1-41) were the other successful bowlers. Khushdil Shah was man of the match for his explosive knock.
The win took Kings to eight points from nine games while the loss left Qalandars at eight points from nine matches.
Summarised scores
Lahore Qalandars 199-6 in 20 overs (Abdullah Shafique 62 (36), Fakhar Zaman 61 (41), Moeen Ali 2-26, Hasan Ali 1-32
Karachi Kings: 203-5 (18.4 overs) David Warner 63* (44), Khushdil Shah 44* (14), Ubaid Shah 3-41, Haris Rauf 1-36
Result: Karachi Kings won by five wickets.
Khushdil Shah (Man of the match)
