Timely blitz by middle-order batsmen Liam Livingstone and Iftikhar Ahmed eased Karachi Kings’ 134 run-chase after an initial stutter at the Dubai International Stadium.
Iftikhar scored 33 runs off 25 balls, with two boundaries and sixes, leading to a five-wicket win. Livingstone scored 38 before being castled by Yasir Shah.
Shaheen Afridi’s exclusion from back-to-back games in the playing-11 has remained a source of concern for Qalandars. However, Nepal teenage sensation Sandeep Lamichhane took two wickets, while David Wiese, Yasir Shah and Haris Rauf picked one each.
Karachi Kings’ bowling attack restricted Lahore Qalandars to 133 runs in the second fixture.
AB de Villiers with his 33 runs innings off 32 balls remained the highest scorer for the Qalandars before giving his wicket to fast bowler Muhammad Aamir in his attempt to back-sweep.
Sohail Akhtar contributed unbeaten 29 runs in the death overs of the innings.
For the Kings, Iftikhar Ahmed took two wickets while skipper Imad Wasim, Muhammad Aamir and Umer Khan took one each.
