Collin Munro’s blistering 82 helped Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings by 7 wickets in the 15th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9 on Wednesday.
Islamabad chased down the 166-run target with seven wickets and 9 balls to spare, securing their second PSL win in five games.
Batting first, Kieron Pollard’s unbeaten 48 led Karachi Kings’ fightback as they posted a 166-run target for Islamabad United.
After being put into bat, Karachi Kings struggled on a slow wicket, losing Tim Seifert (8 off 9 balls) in the third over.
Shan Masood (27 off 30) put up a 40-run stand with Leus du Plooy (24 off 15) before the latter was bowled by Agha Salman in the 8th over.
The next three wickets of Shan Masood, Shoaib Malik (6 off 7), and Mohammad Nawaz (6 off 11) fell quickly, leaving the home side reeling at 89/5.
However, Kieron Pollard (48 off 28) and Irfan Khan Niazi (27 from 22 balls) built an unbeaten 77-run stand for the sixth wicket, taking Karachi Kings’ total to 165/5 after 20 overs.
For Islamabad, Naseem Shah, Imad Waseem, Hunain Shah and Salman Ali Agha took a wicket each.
In pursuit of a modest total, Islamabad United had a cracking start, scoring 58 runs in the powerplay without losing any wickets.
Openers, Collin Munro, and Alex Hales posted a 108-run stand before Hasan Ali removed Hales for 34-ball 47.
Despite losing his partner, Munro continued the onslaught. The pinnacle of his entertaining innings came in the eighth over when he hit three consecutive sixes to Tabraiz Shamsi.
His blistering knock came to an end when Mohammad Nawaz trapped him before the wicket. His 82-run innings was studded with 4 sixes and 8 fours.
The next wicket of Imad Waseem (first-ball duck) fell quickly, leaving Islamabad United 139/3.
Skipper Shadab Khan and Salman Ali Agha (25* off 17) made sure there were no more hiccups as they hunted down the 166-run target in the 19th over.
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Next Fixtures
Karachi Kings will play their second home game against Quetta Gladiators at the National Bank Stadium, Karachi, on Thursday. The match will start at 7 pm.
Past PSL Winners
PSL 2016 – Islamabad United
PSL 2017 – Peshawar Zalmi
PSL 2018 – Islamabad United
PSL 2019 – Quetta Gladiators
PSL 2020 – Karachi Kings
PSL 2021 – Multan Sultans
PSL 2022 - Lahore Qalandars
PSL 2023 - Lahore Qalandars