Pollard powers Kings to victory
— For most part, Kieron Pollard DUBAI was inconspicuous through this edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL).
But when the chips were down and his team, the Karachi Kings needed him the most, the big West Indian delivered. Needing 10 runs from the last two balls, Pollard smoked two successive sixes to ensure that the Karachi Kings live to fight another day.
The Karachi Kings won by five wickets against the Lahore Qalandars in Saturday’s derby at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, a game rendered even more important as play-off positions were on the line. Karachi Kings’ thrilling win meant they are level on six points with the Lahore Qalandars. And Kumar Sangakkara’s men have their destiny in their own hands when they take on Islamabad United in the last League game on Sunday night.
A victory there will put them through to the play-offs, at the expense of the Lahore Qalandars, who have wrapped up their League engagements. Quetta Gladiators, Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi have already qualified.
Pollard conjured an unbeaten 45 from 20 deliveries with four lusty sixes and one boundary. And after he hit the winning six, the Trinidadian threw his bat and helmet and did push-ups as his teammates rushed in to celebrate. Opener Babar Azam had earlier fallen one short of a second halfcentury in the tournament.
Earlier, the Lahore Qalandars managed 155, which was perhaps par for the course. It was a sort of a indifferent innings with the Karachi Kings putting the brakes at regular intervals just when the Lahore Qalandars were trying to take flight. And it took the lower order pair of Rizwan and Sohail Tanvir, to give the Qalandars the impetus.