Pollard, Malik rescue Kings to clinch last-ball thriller against Qalandars
This was Qalandars' fourth defeat in a row, with Sahibzada Farhan's unbeaten 72 going in vain
AP and ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2024
Kieron Pollard and Shoaib Malik added 95 after Karachi Kings were 44 for 4 • PSL
Karachi Kings 176 for 8 (Pollard 58, Malik 39, Hafeez 2-19) beat Lahore Qalandars 175 for 6 (Farhan 72*, Hasan 2-29, Hamza 2-31) by two wickets
Karachi Kings clinched a last-ball thriller to hand two-time defending champions Lahore Qalandars their fourth straight loss in the Pakistan Super League on Saturday.
Kings won by two wickets after defying a much-improved Qalandars pace attack, led by Shaheen Shah Afridi (1 for 34), to reach 176 for 8 in exactly 20 overs in reply to Qalandars' 175 for 6.
Qalandars were asked to bat first by Kings, and opener Sahibzada Farhan anchored the innings with an unbeaten 72 off 45 balls. South African George Linde provided the late flourish with a breezy 26 not out off 13 balls.
Kings' Kieron Pollard (58) and Shoaib Malik (39) led the chase with their 95-run fifth-wicket stand after their team had stuttered at 44 for 4 inside the powerplay.
But their departures in successive overs brought Qalandars back into the game, with Afridi featuring in both dismissals. Pollard skied an easy catch to cover against the left-arm fast bowler in the 16th over, and Afridi took a brilliant catch running backwards from mid-off to dismiss Malik in Haris Rauf's next over.
Rauf (1 for 22), who had taken just one wicket in the previous three games and conceded 110 runs, got his rhythm back before suffering a shoulder injury late in Kings' chase.
Zaman Khan (2 for 25) bowled Daniel Sams, and that gave the inexperienced spinner Ahsan Hafeez 11 runs to defend in the last over.
Hasan Ali hoisted Hafeez for a six over wide mid-on off the first ball. After the scores were level, Rauf damaged his shoulder while holding on to a spectacular diving catch to dismiss Hasan. Mir Hamza cut Hafeez to deep third off the final ball to raise Kings' second win in four games. Kings are third with four points, behind Multan Sultans and Quetta Gladiators.
Earlier, Farhan had counterattacked in the second half of the innings as Kings' pace and spin pinned down Qalandars to 59 for 3 in ten overs.
Shai Hope (21) smashed Tabraiz Shamsi (2 for 42) for 16 runs in the spinner's final over. Farhan and Linde combined in a 54-run stand off the final 26 balls.