RAWALPINDI: What promised to be a thriller ended up in a lopsided contest after the Babar Azam-led Peshawar Zalmi hammered Karachi Kings by 24 runs, overtaking them on points table. Karachi Kings will now have to not only win their remaining games but also hope that other results go their way.
Peshawar Zalmi were put in to bat first after Karachi Kings won the toss. Making full use of the conditions, Kings reduced Zalmi to 2/3 courtesy a brilliant opening spell by Mohammad Amir. However, Haseebullah Khan and Tom Hohler-Cadmore counterattacked the opposition and added 82 runs before Haseebullah fell to Tabrez Shamsi.
In walked Rovman Powell who helped muscle Zalmi to 197 in their 20 overs. He scored a superb 64 off 34 balls. For Zalmi, three batters – Haseebullah, Kohler-Cadmore, and Powell scored 50s. With a target of 198, the Kings started off well but lost their first wicket in the fifth over of the powerplay. For Kings, only Matthew Wade and Imad Wasim put up some kind of fight. However, the game was already over by then.
