On Friday, Karachi Kings finally broke their losing streak, beating Lahore Qalandars by 22 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
After winning the toss, Karachi posted a total of 149 runs in 19.5 overs. Kings’ bowler Mir Hamza was the star of the day, as he took four key wickets of Lahore Qalandars to ensure points for his team.
Karachi, which is already out of the tournament, had a face-saving with their win over Qalandars, who had 10 points in seven games and were looking for a place in the playoffs but now they have to win all its coming games.
Defending champions Multan Sultans qualified for the February 23 Qualifier after they snatched 117 runs victory over Quetta Gladiators earlier in the day. Lahore Qalandars will now face Islamabad United in the 27th match of the league on Saturday.
Harry Brook and David Wiese with some gutsy batting kept Lahore Qalandars’ hopes intact till the 18th over. But Mir Hamza, who first broke the partnership taking the wicket of Brook and then, despite review from Wiese, trapped him leg before wicket. They provided some acceleration to Lahore’s score from 63 for five to 119 for six. Brook made 28 while Wiese piled up 31 in 23 balls. With that Qalandars now look to regroup in their next match to stay alive in the tournament.
On Lahore’s side, Afghan bowler Rashid Khan and emerging pacer Zaman Khan took four wickets each, conceding 17 and 16 runs respectively.
Hamza bagged Player of the Match award for an outstanding spell against the Qalandars.
