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- Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings by five wickets to jump to second place on PSL points table
- Tymal Mills takes three important wickets, Faheem Ashraf two to restrict Karachi to 150/7
ISLAMABAD: Karachi Kings were no match for Islamabad United on Thursday as the home side thrashed the Kings by five wickets at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium to solidify their position for ahead of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) playoffs.
Chasing 151 runs, United lost wickets earlier when opening batters Alex Hales and Colin Munro departed for 18 and 9 runs respectively. However, a 58-run partnership between in-form batters Shadab Khan (34) and Salman Ali Agha (33) helped United reach a comfortable position to complete the chase.
After explosive batter Azam Khan fell for 9 runs, Haider Ali held his nerves to score 26 runs from 16 balls to help United clinch the match.
“A huge shoutout to Haider Ali and Faheem Ashraf for closing out the match with style and to Salman Ali Agha & Shadab Khan for laying a solid foundation for our chase,” United wrote on social media platform X.
United’s left-arm pacer Tymal Mills returned to form against the Kings, returning figures of 3/34. He dismissed James Vince (29) Mohammad Nawaz (5) and Irfan Khan (16) to ensure the Kings finished with a modest total of 150 from their 20 overs.
For the Kings, Keiron Pollard scored 39 runs, hitting three sixes and an equal number of fours but did not get ample support from any of the Karachi batters. Faheem Ashraf bowled well for United too, returning figures of 2/16 while Imad Wasim and Hunain Shah picked up a wicket each.
With their latest win, United jumped from the number four to the number two spot behind Multan Sultans. The Kings, on the other hand, remain at the fifth spot on the PSL points table, ahead of only bottom-placed Lahore Qalandars.
The top four teams will qualify for the playoffs.