At Karachi, Karachi Kings defeated Lahore Qalandars by 67 runs thanks to Imad Wasim’s all-around performance and Akif Javed’s four-wicket burst.
Having suffered three losses in a row, Kings managed to post 185 for 5, with contributions from Imad who scored a useful 35 not out and James Vince and Matthew Wade who set the tone by adding 70 runs in 7.1 overs. They bowled Qalandars out for 118 in the second half thanks to Javed’s 4 for 28.
After the Kings were put in, Vince smashed a four against Shaheen Shah Afridi in the opening over, but Wade was the one who helped them surge ahead during the powerplay.
Before creaming Shaheen through extra cover, the left-hander kicked off his boundary reply with a four off Zaman Khan past reverse point. In the fifth over, the pair each hit a six against David Wiese. Wade added two more fours to end the powerplay as the Kings reached 61 for 0 after six.
When Wade was run out for a 24-ball 36, the stand was destroyed. Afterwards, Liam Dawson dismissed Haider Ali for 19 runs, Shoaib Malik was returned by Haris Rauf, and Zaman bowled Vince with a toe-crushing yorker. As a result, Kings were reduced to 124 for 4 in the 13th over.
However, Kings scored 55 runs in the final five overs due to Imad’s unbeaten 19-ball 35, which included two fours and two sixes.
In response, Mirza Baig gave Qalandars a quick start in his second T20 match. As Qalandars reached 39 for 0 after four overs, he hit Imad for a four in the first over and Javed for two sixes in the next.
Yet the Kings bowlers were good at adjusting to the slow Karachi surface. Irfan Khan made a fantastic grab to dismiss Shai Hope at backward point after Aamer Yamin struck to remove Fakhar Zaman with an in-dipper.
From there, Qalandars could not recover. For the third wicket, Baig and Ghulam added 41 runs, but only at a run per ball. After 12 overs, the needed rate had increased to 12.50, and Qalandars knew they had to score big. Nevertheless, the loose deliveries never appeared.
Javed struck twice in his third over after giving up 26 runs in his first two, sending back both Baig and Ghulam. Hussain Talat was taken care of by Yamin after a brief absence.
Ben Cutting claimed two wickets off successive balls to bring the game to a close as Amir walked from the field clutching his thigh. The hosts’ ideal evening was then completed by Javed taking two more wickets in the 18th over.
