SHARJAH: Spin twins Imad Wasim and Usama Mir were instrumental in dethroning Islamabad United here on Wednesday night as Karachi Kings pulled off an improbable victory at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium to qualify for the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) knockout playoff.

Not for the first time in this tournament, a low-scoring encounter kept everyone glued to the fascinating battle of nerves. Defending just 126 in the playoff eliminator, Karachi lifted their game dramatically to bowl the outgoing champions for 82 in 15.2 overs to record an astonishing 44-run win. Imad and Usama shared six wickets between them before Mohammad Amir and Sohail Khan mopped up the tail.

Karachi Kings thus set up a mouth-watering tie against the Peshawar Zalmi in Dubai on Friday. The winners will play in the final against Quetta Gladiators.

Everything about this clash was unreal from the outset. But there was nothing false about Karachi’s tremendous character in the face of adversity and none set a more appropriate example in the field than Kumar Sangakkara himself. The skipper pouched a fabulous catch by leaping to his right when Dwayne Smith slashed hard at Amir.

That piece of athleticism electrified the Karachi ranks from here on. Imad cleaned up Misbah-ul-Haq and Shane Watson in successive overs after Amir had forced Brad Haddin to play onto his stumps.

After Usama had young Shadab Khan caught in the covers, Imad trapped PSL debutant Nicholas Pooran on a review decision.

Asif Ali, who was the top scorer of the match with 39 off 36 balls, nicked a simple catch to Sangakkara before Usama sent back Mohammad Sami, who unsuccessfully asked for a review on the very next ball.

And then it was left to Sohail and Amir to complete the final rites of a sensational T20 fixture — producing a combined total of only 208 runs in 35 overs all told — during which Karachi earned the distinction of successfully defending the lowest-ever total in the brief PSL history.

On a sluggish pitch — a stark contrast from the same turf yielding 399 runs in the thriller between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi 24 hours earlier — Karachi hardly made any sort of impact against a well-disciplined bowling unit after Misbah, predictably, chose to field.

Islamabad sent down as many as 55 dot deliveries — equivalent to 9.1 overs. Despite Babar Azam scoring four successive boundaries off Mohammad Irfan’s second over, Islamabad United always were in control of the situation. Babar and Shoaib Malik made 25 each, but no other batsman managed even 20.

Scoreboard

KARACHI KINGS:

Babar Azam lbw b Shadab 25
C.H. Gayle b Rumman 17
K.C. Sangakkara c Misbah b Watson 17
Shoaib Malik run out 25
R.S. Bopara c Shadab b Watson 15
K.A. Pollard c Shadab b Rumman 5
Imad Wasim c Asif b Rumman 14
Sohail Khan b Rumman 0
Mohammad Amir not out 2
Usama Mir c Rumman b Sami 1
Usman Khan Shinwari b Sami 0

EXTRAS (LB-2, W-4) 6
TOTAL (all out, 19.4 overs) 126
FALL OF WKTS: 1-42, 2-42, 3-76, 4-100, 5-105, 6-122, 7-122, 8-123, 9-125.
BOWLING: Mohammad Irfan 4-1-28-0 (1w); Mohammad Sami 3.4-1-19-2; Rumman Raees Khan 4-0-25-4 (1w); Shadab Khan 4-0-23-1; Watson 4-0-29-2 (2w).

ISLAMABAD UNITED:

D.R. Smith c Sangakkara b Amir 8
Asif Ali c Sangakkara b Usama 39
B.J. Haddin b Amir 0
Misbah-ul-Haq b Imad 13
S.R. Watson b Imad 8
Shadab Khan c Bopara b Usama 1
N. Pooran lbw b Imad 1
Amad Butt b Sohail 7
Mohammad Sami lbw b Usama 0
Rumman Raees Khan c Pollard b Amir 0
Mohammad Irfan not out 0

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-4) 5
TOTAL (all out, 15.2 overs) 82
FALL OF WKTS: 1-12, 2-12, 3-47, 4-61, 5-69, 6-70, 7-77, 8-77, 9-82.
BOWLING: Mohammad Amir 2.2-0-7-3; Usman Khan Shinwari 2-0-11-0; Sohail Khan 3-0-21-1 (1w); Imad Wasim 4-0-18-3 (1w); Usama Mir 4-0-24-3 (2w).

RESULT: Karachi Kings won by 44 runs.
UMPIRES: Ahsan Raza (Pakistan) and R.E.J. Martinesz (Sri Lanka).
TV UMPIRE: Shozab Raza (Pakistan).
MATCH REFEREE: R.S. Mahanama (Sri Lanka).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Imad Wasim.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2017