Lahore: In the 9th match of the Pakistan Super League, Karachi Kings defeated Peshawar Zalmi by 7 wickets thanks to a spectacular innings by Kieron Pollard.
Karachi Kings easily chased down Peshawar Zalmi’s target of 155 runs in the 17th over, with Kieron Pollard scoring 49 and James Vince contributing 38 runs, remaining unbeaten.
The match took place at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium where Kings’ captain, Shaan Masood, won the toss and invited Zalmi to bat first.
Zalmi faced difficulties right from the start as they managed to score only 154 runs in 19.5 overs, losing all their wickets in the process.
Shoaib Malik dismissed Saqib Mahmood for a duck, while later Mohammad Haris contributed 6 runs before falling victim to Mir Hamza’s delivery.
From Peshawar Zalmi, captain Babar Azam stood out with 72 runs, while Tom Kohler-Cadmore scored 2, Romaine Powell 39, Asif Ali 23, Amir Jamal 1, and Liam Livingstone 8 runs before being bowled out.
Mohammad Zeehan, Salman Arshad, and Waqar Salam couldn’t contribute any runs.
For Karachi Kings, Mir Hamza and Hasan Ali claimed three wickets each.
After chasing the target of 155 runs set by Peshawar Zalmi, captain Shaan Masood scored 12 runs and Mohammad Akhlaq scored 24 runs before getting out. Additionally, Shoaib Malik contributed 29 runs.
After losing 3 wickets, Kieron Pollard and James Vince played responsible innings, leading their team to victory by 7 wickets.
Read more: PSL 9: Karachi Kings win toss against Peshawar Zalmi, elect to bowl first
Karachi Kings achieved the target of 155 runs in the 17th over with the loss of 3 wickets. Kieron Pollard’s unbeaten 49 runs in the innings included 4 fours and 4 sixes in the thrilling encounter of 21 deliveries, while James Vince remained not out with 38 runs.
At the toss, Peshawar Zalmi’s captain Babar Azam expressed that if his team had won the toss, they would have opted to bat first.
It is evident that both Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings have lost their opening matches. Zalmi faced defeat against Quetta, whereas Karachi Kings were defeated by Multan.