Islamabad United put up a commanding total of 251/5 in their 20 overs against Karachi Kings in the 30th and final league match of HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) X, being played at Rawalpindi Stadium.
After being sent in to bat, Islamabad’s innings was spearheaded by a blistering knock from Alex Hales, who hammered 88 off just 35 balls, including 6 fours and 8 sixes at a staggering strike rate of 251.42. He was eventually bowled by Khushdil Shah.
Sahibzada Farhan provided a solid foundation, scoring a fluent 73 off 41 balls with 9 fours and 3 sixes, before falling to Mir Hamza, caught by Abbas Afridi.
South African star Rassie van der Dussen managed just 1 run off 7 balls, caught by Warner off Aamer Jamal. Salman Agha was run out for 7, but the damage had already been done.
Skipper Shadab Khan contributed a fiery 42 off 19 deliveries, including 3 fours and 3 sixes, before being run out by wicketkeeper Tim Seifert.
Haider Ali (19* off 9) and Ben Dwarshuis (10* off 4) remained unbeaten, pushing the total past the 250 mark.
Earlier, Karachi Kings captain David Warner said at the toss, “We’re gonna have a ball first tonight. It gives us an opportunity to try and chase something. Our bowlers have been incredibly well this tournament, especially in the Powerplay, and we know how this figure’s gonna play.”
He added that the pitch looked good for bowling early on, “It looks like a nice surface, got a nice shine on it. Hopefully, we can restrict Islamabad to a competitive total for us.”
Tim Seifert replaced Ben McDermott in the Karachi lineup for the game.
“There have been a lot of high, high balls that have gone in the air. So they’re not easy to catch,” he said. “You don’t have time to really practice when you’ve got a quick turnaround, but for us, it is just to play a complete game, and hopefully we can do that tonight.”
Islamabad United XI: Alex Hales, Sahibzada Farhan, Rassie Van der Dussen, Salman Ali Agha, Haider Ali, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Shadab Khan (cap), Ben Dwarshuis, Imad Wasim, Salman Irshad, Tymal Mills
Karachi Kings XI: David Warner (cap), Tim Seifert, James Vince, Saad Baig (wk), Khushdil Shah, Irfan Khan Niazi, Mohammad Nabi, Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Hassan Ali, Mir Hamza
