West Indian power-hitter Kieron Pollard smashed two sixes off last two deliveries of the final over to take Karachi Kings to a 5-wicket win against Lahore Qalandars and keep them alive in the second edition of the Pakistan Super League on Saturday.
Kings needed 14 off the final over and 10 off the last two balls as Pollard smashed Aamer Yamin for a six to long-off on the fifth delivery, and then on deep mid-wicket for another six to complete the victory for Kings.
Pollard smashed four sixes and one four to score 45 off just 20 deliveries, Imad Wasim remained not out after scoring 19 off 14. Pollard was declared the man of the match for his performance.
Chasing a target of 156, Kings were provided a solid base by opener Babar Azam, who scored 49 off 42 deliveries, stroking seven boundaries.
Earlier, responsible batting display by Mohammad Rizwan and Sohail Tanvir helped Lahore post 155-6 in 20 overs after they were invited to bat first by Kings who won the toss.
Rizwan and Sohail added 55 runs for sixth wicket partnership after Qalandars had lost six wickets for just 100 runs on board following a traditional middle-order collapse that saw three wickets—Sunil Narine, Umar Akmal and Grant Elliot—falling for just seven runs in a span of 11 deliveries.
Wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan smashed one six and two boundaries to score 32 off 24 while Sohail Tanvir stroked two boundaries to score 22 off 14 balls.
Qalandars’ captain Brendon McCullum scored 31 off 28 deliveries, smashing five boundaries, while Umar Akmal scored 20 off 22 deliveries.
Tanvir’s 22 off 14 balls and Rizwan’s 32 off 24 lifted the total to a respectable 155.
For Karachi, Usama Mir and Shoaib Malik took two wickets apiece.
With this win, Karachi are now in strong position to qualify for the playoff, but it is still not all over for Qalandars; they will be hoping for Islamabad United to beat Karachi Kings by a huge margin on Sunday.