Six talking points from Karachi Kings – Quetta Gladiators fixture
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Karachi Kings clinched a one-run win over Quetta Gladiators in their nerve-racking Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2019 encounter at Karachi’s National Stadium on Sunday. The victory confirmed Karachi’s spot in the playoffs.
Let’s look at some of the talking points from the match.
Umer Khan shines once again
The off-spinner continued to excel in the tournament as he finished with figures of 3-26 in his four over. He got the wickets of three key batsmen: Shane Watson, Rilee Rossouw and Umar Akmal.
Usman Shinwari delivers miraculous final over
Imad Wasim’s decision to give the final over to Usman Shinwari —who was expensive throughout the game — paid off as he managed to defend the required five runs and also bagged three wickets. His performance in the last-over earned him the man-of-the-match award.
Ahmed Shehzad shows his worth
Fresh off his match-winning 73-run knock against Islamabad United, Ahmed Shehzad continued to give solid performances as he missed out on his first PSL century by just one run. His 99-run knock included eight fours and six maximums. He kept the scoreboard ticking with his batting.
Dwayne Bravo’s mishits change the game
It seemed as if Ahmed Shehzad and Dwayne Bravo’s partnership will take Quetta Gladiators home to a victory till Sohail Khan came on to bowl. Bravo missed four balls in a single over which had an impact on the scoring momentum the required run rate.
Iftikhar Ahmed powers Karachi Kings to a competitive total
The Karachi Kings batsmen, apart from Babar Azam, were struggling to find boundaries in the game and the side kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Iftikhar Ahmed came on to bat and made 44 runs off 18 balls with the help of five boundaries and two maximums. His knock took the side to 190-5 in 20 overs.
Quetta Gladiators struggle with the bat
Apart from Ahmed Shehzad, Quetta Gladiators batsmen did not provide much resistance to the Karachi bowlers as the batsmen put up lackluster performances in the fixture. Given the conditions, it seemed as if the 191-run target could easily be chased in 20 overs. The situation turned sour in the last over as Usman Shinwari managed to defend five runs in the last over and took three wickets.
Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/sports/2019/03/six-talking-points-from-karachi-kings-quetta-gladiators-fixture/