Islamabad United 164 for 6 (Hales 41, Delport 38, Talat 32, Asif 24*, Umer 2-16) beat Karachi Kings 161 for 9 (Babar 42, Munro 32, Musa 3-42, Faheem 2-30) by 4 wickets
How the
game played out
Karachi Kings may be one of the less prolific sides in this
competition's brief history, but they are the only side to have knocked
Islamabad United out of any PSL tournament. That victory came in an Eliminator
two years ago. But today, Islamabad United avenged that loss in a scrappy,
entertaining game where both sides chugged along like an antique car on a dodgy
engine, hurtling along seemingly without control before grinding to a halt at
various stages of their innings. The upshot was a four-wicket win for
Islamabad, who chased down Karachi's 161 with three balls to spare.
Despite the loss, the most memorable part of the game was
arguably the first six overs. Karachi had courageously won the toss and chosen
to bat first in a tournament where that decision is close to sacrilege, and
blistered to 50 in just 20 balls as Colin Munro finally began to make good on
the talent based on which he was signed. When he feathered an edge to Mohammad
Musa, he had smashed 32 runs in a mere 11 balls, and Karachi were motoring
along at 17 an over. They would go on to add an eye-watering 78 in the first
six, as the boundaries flew like confetti.
Islamabad came back to choke them after the Powerplay ended,
and somehow maintained that stranglehold right throughout the innings, with
Karachi only just managing to double their Powerplay total, in the end limping
to 161 for nine. Most of Islamabad's bowlers had recovered their figures, and
the one who was most expensive - Muhammad Musa - was the highest wicket-taker,
having removed Munro, Ingram and Iftikhar Ahmed.
Islamabad's chase always looked tight, not helped by a slow
start and Ronchi's early departure. Alex Hales and Cameron Delport saw them
through the Powerplay, but the nerves wouldn't have been eased as the asking
rate continued to rise in the face of a stellar bowling attack and a
world-class spell from Umer Khan. Towards the end, it came down to Islamabad's
own local talent in Faheem Ashraf, Asif Ali and Hussain Talat to manage the
asking rate. Mohammad Amir missed his lines once too often, Babar Azam dropped
a catch once too frequently and Karachi were simply a few too short in the
final overs. It all amounted to Islamabad getting to the finish line just in
time, dashing Karachi's hopes of a title on home soil.
Turning
point
Karachi began to struggle as soon as that whirlwind of a
Powerplay came to a close, but the final three overs were especially ruinous to
their chances. Positioned at 150 for six with three overs to go, they still had
the opportunity to pose a stiff challenge with a brisk finish. Instead, the
last three overs saw a mere 11 runs scored.
Star of
the day
Pakistan have swooned over the fast bowling gems they may
have unearthed this tournament, and bemoaned the lack of exciting local
batsmen. But the find of the competition may be 19-year old Umer Khan, perhaps
the most promising spinner to come out of the PSL since Shadab Khan. Having
impressed ever since he got AB de Villiers out weeks ago, Umer has found a way
to get the biggest names of the planet out just when Karachi have required him
to. His spell today was one of the spells of the tournament, with the teenager
the only bowler to find genuine drift and turn on a flat wicket. He wasn't
afraid of flighting the ball, and found due rewards, finding the outside edges
of Delport and Chadwick Walton within three deliveries of each other. He ended
up with 4-0-16-2, and if ever a performance deserved not to end up in the
losing side, it was his.
The big
miss
Ronchi has the highest strike rate in the world off the
first 10 balls, but the New Zealand opener was strangely subdued over that
period today. Valued around the world because he doesn't need so much as a
warm-up ball to begin attacking the bowlers, Ronchi played out nine deliveries
today, unable to get one to the boundary rope. Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir and
Aamer Yamin all executed their plans perfectly, pitching the ball short of a
length. It deprived Ronchi of the ability to strike the ball through the line.
The change-up came off his ninth ball, with Yamin sending down a wide yorker
that Ronchi could only mishit to mid-on. 5 off 9 is an unlikely innings breakdown
for the Islamabad talisman, and in a game of exceptionally fine margins, they
almost ended up paying for it.
Big
picture
Karachi bow out with today's defeat, with Islamabad through
to the playoff with Peshawar tomorrow. The winner of that contest plays Quetta
Gladiators in the final.
