Islamabad United 177 for 6 (Stirling 39, Shadab 34, Jordan 2-36) beat Karachi Kings 135 for 9 (Nabi 47*, Shadab 4-15) by 42 runs
The PSL is halfway through, and Karachi Kings have one foot out of the tournament. The side that's hosted the first leg slumped to it's most spineless defeat in their final home game this season, with Islamabad United walloping Babar Azam's men by 42 runs. On a pitch that wasn't quite as free-scoring as most of the others on show so far this season, Islamabad United posted 177, thanks to a number of cameos from the top order.
At the time, it seemed as if the Kings might have a chance of running it down, but United, and the Kings' own self-destructive spirit, had other ideas. A couple of run-outs up top and regular wickets meant the Kings were swiftly out of the contest, before the undisputed player of the tournament Shadab Khan stepped up with the ball to rip the heart out of the middle order. His 4 for 15 added insult to injury, and the Kings finished tamely with 135.
For just the second time in 38, United opted to bat first after winning the toss, capitalising on the recent trend of defending scores. While they didn't quite get off to the whirlwind starts Paul Stirling and Alex Hales have made customary, it was swift enough to keep momentum on their side. Imad Wasim went for 12 in the first over largely at Stirling's hands, and Chris Jordan's first over was greeted by the openers with 16. By the time Imad returned to prise Hales out, United had added 66 in 7.3 overs.
Stirling fell soon after and, for a while, the bowlers appeared to have a hold over the game. Shadab, though, was playing a delightful little knock, finding regular boundaries to keep the run rate up even as Colin Munro struggled at the other end. A fine running, tumbling catch by Babar - he would sparkle once more in the field with a sensational one-handed grab running back to see the end of Asif Ali - brought an end to Sadab's knock, but true to brand, United just kept swinging. Another wayward Jordan over at the death and some crunching drives from Azam Khan brought 25 off the final two overs, and that took United to a total that looked slightly above par.
The chase began disastrously for the Kings, with a mix-up between Babar and Sharjeel seeing the latter run out in the second over. Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim, Mubasir Ahmed and Waqas Maqsood took turns bowling during the powerplay but each maintained a stranglehold over the Kings' batters, who managed just 21 in the first five overs. By this time, an off-colour Babar had been cleaned up by Mohammad Wasim, and the asking rate had soared above 10.
Imad Wasim, promoted to five, was involved in another bit of calamitous Kings' running, with Sahibzada Farhan finishing up at the same end as him.
By this point, things had deteriorated into a farce for the Kings, and the feeling they wanted to be put out of their misery was inescapable. Shadab was the man for the job, an incisive four-wicket spell putting the home side on the brink of defeat. There was flight that deceived Lewis Gregory, the wrong 'un that did for Imad and Jordan, and the full flat ball to trap Mohammad Taha in front. It was the Shadab show for a while, with Karachi cast in the role of sidekick.
There was mild entertainment for the home crowd when Mohammad Nabi and Umaid Asif cut loose at the death, they way you do when there's no pressure because all is doomed anyway. Mohammad Wasim was tonked for 20 in an over and Nabi smashed an entertaining unbeaten 28-ball 47 to see off the game, but all that provided was an illusion of competition in a game that contained very little of it.
