Karachi: Naseem Shah devastated Karachi Kings by five wickets and Ahsan Ali scored an unbeaten 57 to guide Quetta Gladiators to an eight-wicket win and register their first win in the seventh edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). ,
Chasing 114, Will Sameed, who scored 30 runs, and Ahsan got the Gladiators off to a scintillating 76-run start. In the last over, captain Sarfaraz Ahmed ended the match in this style by hitting three consecutive fours.
Mohammad Imran had raised the hopes for the Kings a bit as he dismissed Sameeed, but it went in vain. Former captain Imad Wasim was economical with the ball as he conceded 18 runs in four overs.
Quetta chased down the small target with ease as the Kings lost their second game in a row this season.
Karachi innings
Earlier, Quetta Gladiators pacer Naseem Shah, with his sensational figures of 5-20 in the Karachi Kings batting order, restricted them to a total of 113 runs.
Invited to bat first by Sarfaraz, Kings remained under the pump from the start as the Gladiators had money in the bowl as well as the field.
Babar remained the top scorer with 32 runs, otherwise, it was a sorry tale for the Kings, who could have been dismissed for less than 100, leaving Amir Yamin 20 and Imad Wasim 26.
Sohail Tanvir had earlier wreaked havoc on the Kings top-order and picked up two wickets in the third over of the match. He sent Sharjeel Khan and Joe Clarke to the pavilion.
In the fifth over, Naseem took two wickets in two consecutive balls. He dismissed Mohammad Nabi for a duck. Tom Laman could only score three runs.
Later in the 15th and 17th overs, Naseem Shah took two more wickets of Mohammad Ilyas and Imad Wasim respectively. Shah took five wickets in the match.
During this, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz and James Faulkner took one wicket each.
playing XI
Karachi Kings: Babar Azam (c), Sharjeel Khan, Joe Clarke (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Tom Lamonby, Lewis George, Aamer Yameen, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Taha, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Ilyas
Quetta Gladiators: Will Smed, Ahsan Ali, Ben Duckett, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c) (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Sohail Tanvir, James Faulkner, Ashir Qureshi, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah