Liam Livingstone and Usman Shinwari's individual splendid performances helped Karachi Kings knock Multan Sultans out of the 2019 Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
The Kings, who were chasing a target of 119 runs, finished the match with a 5-wicket win over Sultans and four balls to spare.
Multan's innings
Multan Sultans had set a 119-run target for Kings as the two teams at the bottom of the 2019 PSL points table faced off in the crucial match.
A strong bowling attack from Kings led by man-of-the-match Shinwari, who claimed four wickets, restricted Sultans to 118-7 at the end of their 20 overs. Umer Khan also picked up three wickets for Karachi.
Hammad Azam was the lead scorer for Multan with 29 runs.
Shinwari was in for Mohammad Amir, whose mother is unwell.
Karachi's innings
Liam Livingstone's unbeaten 53-run knock off 42 balls proved crucial for the Kings' chase of the target. Colin Ingram also contributed with 31 runs of his own.
Sultan's bowling attack was led by Mohammad Ilyas, who bagged three wickets; Mohammad Abbas claimed the other two wickets of Kings.
With five 4s and a 6, Livingstone persevered on the pitch till the end with skipper Imad Wasim (0) as the Kings defeated Sultans by five wickets and ended with a total of 120-5, with four balls to spare.
Earlier the Kings won the toss and opted to bowl first.
Karachi entered the game having won three of the seven matches they had played while Multan, at the bottom of the table, had won two of the eight matches they had played.