Islamabad United Seal Crucial Victory Against the Kings

Muhammad Waqas

Karachi Kings: 150/7 (20) | Pollard 39(28), Vince 29(27) | Mills 3/34, Faheem 2/16

Islamabad United: 151/5 (18.4) | Shadab 34(26), Agha 33(30) | Hamza 3/41, Muzarabani 1/24

Islamabad United delivered a dominant performance with both bat and ball, securing an essential five-wicket win against Karachi Kings. This marks the eighth consecutive win for this franchise over the Kings, making it the longest streak against a single opponent in league history.

Islamabad United now finds themselves comfortably positioned in second place on the points table win nine points, boasting a net run rate over Gladiators and Zalmi. Meanwhile, the Kings languish in fifth place with six points.

Chasing the target of 151, Islamabad United had a mixed start with Alex Hales scoring 18 off 13 before Mir Hamza dismissed both Colin Munro and Alex Hales, leaving them at 47/2 at the end of the powerplay. Salman Agha and skipper Shadab Khan steadied the innings with a valuable 58-run partnership for the 3^rd-wicket. However, after dismissing Shadab and Azam Khan in quick succession, Zahid Mahmood and Mir Hamza revived the Kings’ hopes, leaving United to require 36 runs off 29 balls.

Nonetheless, Faheem Ashraf and Heider Ali then combined forces to guide Islamabad United to the victory with eight balls to spare. They put together an unbeaten 36-run partnership, with Haider making 26 runs off 16 deliveries and Faheem scoring 12 runs.

Hamza starred for Karachi Kings with a three-wicker haul, while Zahid and Blessing Muzarabani contributed one wicket each.

Earlier, Islamabad United faced setbacks with the absence of Naseem Shah and Rumman Raees, both sidelined due to injury. However, United’s decision to bowl first paid off as their bowlers restricted Karachi Kings to 150/7. Karachi Kings suffered with the early wicket loss, finding themselves struggling at 49/4. Despite a 58-run partnership between Kieron Pollard and James Vince for the fifth wicket, Kings failed to post a challenging total.  

Faheem Ashraf was the pick of the bowlers, scalping two crucial wickets for 16 runs, while Tymal Mills also made a significant impact with three dismissals. Whereas Imad Wasim finished with the figures 1/18 (4) and Hunain Shah 1/36 (4).