Karachi Kings 203 for 5 (Warner 63*, Khushdil 44*, Ubaid 3-41) beat Lahore Qalandars 199 for 6 (Shafique 62, Fakhar 61, Moeen 2-26) by five wickets
There is nothing, for Karachi Kings, quite like Lahore Qalandars if they want to break a losing streak. The side they have beaten more frequently than any other was there like an antidote for their poor form, and Khushdil Shah's fireworks at the death ensured they accepted it with glee. He struck Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf for 37 runs off the final 10 balls of the contest as Karachi romped home in a contest they absolutely needed to win to stay alive, and one they were the underdogs for large parts in.
An exhausted David Warner was at the other end for the entirety of the innings, and top scored with an unbeaten 44-ball 63, but as he began to flag at the end, a refreshed Khushdil took over. Seven of the 14 balls he faced went for four or six as he found himself dialled in when it mattered most, obliterating the Qalandars' death bowling plans with an undefeated 44 off 14 balls. It upended a contest Shaheen Afridi's men looked to have locked down for just about the entirety of the chase, never more than when the dangerous Moeen Ali and Azam Khan were dispatched within 11 balls of each other.
The Kings had opted to field first in a game with plenty riding for both teams. Initially, the Qalandars took advantage of a Kings' side winless in their last five matches with a 110-run stand between Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique, who contributed 61 and 62 to set up a platform for a score well in excess of 200. But a wily spell from Moeen Ali and discipline from Hasan Ali dragged the home side back from their vantage point of dominance. Daniel Sams, Sikandar Raza and Shaheen Afridi chipped in with useful cameos in the final three overs to propel them to within a whisker of 200, but just eight overs ago, they looked on track for plenty more.
But the Qalandars have the bowling attack to make up for any runs left on the table, and that's what they showed in a strong beginning. Ubaid Shah was first out of the blocks, rushing Jason Roy with a bouncer that climbed and reared on the Englishman, before repeating the dose for struggling South African Reeza Hendricks. Salman Ali Agha is not a modern T20 threat under most circumstances, and especially not in his current form, and when Haris Rauf drew an edge with the short ball, a 15-ball 14 came to a limp end to leave the asking rate just under 12.
It was down to Moeen and Warner to pull it back, and a valuable cameo from Moeen, who was timing the ball superbly, saw the Kings begin to rein Qalandars back in. Sikandar Raza was slapped for a pair of sixes in an over that began with the required rate at 12.44, and thereafter it seemed to drop every over. When Ubaid Shah fooled Moeen with a slower delivery and got rid of him, the over still conceded 15, and the incoming Azam Khan bled Afridi for 14 more in the one that followed.
It set the stage for Khushdil's improbable heist, one that, with every swing of his blade began to look increasingly inevitable.
