Kings keep cool to down Zalmi by five wickets
dubai — Catches win matches is an old cliché but in modern game, it is also imperative to hit the stumps to run out rival batsmen.
Peshawar Zalmi erred on both counts after Dwayne Smith’s superlative solo act had given them hopes of another win in the third edition of the Pakistan Super League on Sunday. The result, Karachi Kings won the T20 battle by five wickets with two balls to spare.
The 22-yard greenish stripe at the Ring of Fire has been a delight for the bowlers while batsmen have to put up their best show to muster respectable numbers on the electronic scoreboards around the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Had Zalmi boys taken their chances while defending 131, they could have won their second match on the trot. However, that was not to be and Karachi Kings kept their heads down in the face of a not so stiff asking rate to get past the victory target on the fourth ball of the 20th over with a six off skipper Imad Wasim’s blade.
The logic behind Imad coming ahead of hard-hitting Shahid Afridi was obvious. Left-arm spinner Mohammad Ashgar was bowling and had conceded only two runs in four balls with a wicket to boast. In came left-handed batsman Imad. He wasted no time and hoisted Ashgar’s fourth ball over long-on ropes by stepping out to belt the flighted delivery out of the park.
Karachi Kings were put on the road to victory by some sensible batting from Joe Denly (29, 39 balls, four 4s), Babar Azam (28, 20balls, three 4s, one 6), Colin Ingram (23, 14 balls, two 4s, one 6), Ravi Bopara (17, 23 balls, one 4) and Mohammed Rizwan (19, 16 balls, one 4, one 6). They knew that they had to keep wickets in hand and the asking rate was not much of a bother.
At the same time the Karachi win was not as one sided as statistics may suggest. The Kings may not have doubted their chances at any stage but Zalmi stretched the game to the wire. And, had they affected 3-4 run outs or taken a couple of dropped catches, the result could have been different.
Before we move to Smith’s calculated 71 off 51 balls with four boundaries and five sixes, let’s examine teenage find of the PSL, Ibtisam Sheikh. The 19-year-old bespectacled leggie once again showed guts in giving air to his leg spins and googlies and was unperturbed despite being hit for 13 runs in his third over.
The studious looking boy from a family of doctors in Pakistan’s city of Hyderabad finished with 4-025-2 and looks a bright prospect for the future.
Ibtisam could dare to toss up the ball because Zalmi’s lone ranger Smith had given them a slim hope of defending a total that was otherwise 30 runs short on this pitch. The burly West Indian paced his innings well by scoring first 30 runs off 33 balls and then smacking 41 off 18 as Zalmi scored 53 runs in last five overs.
However, Smith was also guilty of causing three avoidable dismissals (run outs). Zalmi had a decent start of 37 for 2 in power play and they got 53 in last five but the three runs outs with Smith at the other end slowed down their scoring rate in the middle overs and that proved crucial in the end.
sunilvaidya@khaleejtimes.com