Karachi Kings defeated Multan Sultans by seven runs in their Pakistan Super League (PSL) 4 match at the Dubai International Stadium after Mohammad Amir took four wickets for his side. The Sultans were chasing a 184-run target set by the Kings.
Liam Livingstone and Babar Azam opened the innings for the Kings, whereas Mohammad Irfan bowled the first over for the Sultans.
Azam has been tipped to do great things in PSL 2019, and he showed his intentions by dispatching the first ball he faced to the boundary.
The Kings openers dealt everything that the Sultans threw at them masterfully, bringing up their side’s 50 in the 6th over and 100 in the 11th over.
After both the batters completed their 50s, Livingstone upped the ante, hitting boundaries after boundaries. The Englishman had clearly overshadowed his partner and was eyeing a debut ton and had his port city side eyeing 200.
The opening wicket finally fell in the 16th over when Livingstone skied one and was holed out. He finished with 43-ball 82 laced with 6 sixes and just as many fours.
Livingstone’s departure opened the floodgates for Sultans who picked three quick wickets in the next few overs, including the prized one of Azam, who contributed a 59-ball 77.
In all, the Kings lost six wickets in the final 5 overs to finish with a total score of 183-6.
Multan Sultans were 139-5 after 16.3 overs in pursuit of their 184-run target set by Karachi Kings.
Shan Masood and Tom Moores started the run chase but their partnership didn’t last long; Mohammad Amir had Moores caught in just the second over.
When Masood’s laboured 20-run knock came to an end in the 9th over, it was all Karachi. However, Laurie Evans and Shoaib Malik stabilised the Multan ship before the latter went berserk in the 14th over, plundering 24 runs laced with five straight boundaries off Ravi Bopara.