From start to finish, Karachi Kings dominated the last league game against Islamabad United, completing a six-wicket win that ensured they qualified for the playoffs. Rain had delayed the start by 90 minutes and considering the permutations that rain brings, especially when it comes to the dreaded unpredictability of the Duckworth-Lewis Method, Karachi played exceptionally well to win the game and breaking the hearts of Lahore Qalandars’ fans in the process. No matter who qualifies for the final of Pakistan Super League (PSL), one thing is for certain: if the final ends up happening in Lahore, the Qalandars are not going to be a part of it thanks to their repeat performance of finishing at the bottom of the table.
Chris Gayle finally made his presence felt in PSL and he did so in typical Gayle fashion by smashing more sixes than fours. He did that just in time to guide Kings through to the playoffs with a six-wicket win over Islamabad. His West Indian teammate Keiron Pollard made sure there were no hiccups at the end.
Gayle was so badly out of touch that he was dropped for the last match and Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardene finally got his first game in PSL.
Kieron Pollard is another Kings player who was out of touch, but came back to form in a roaring fashion by scoring a man of the match winning 45 against Lahore a day earlier.
“He is a big player in his own right, his stats show it, and I’m sure if he gets another opportunity in this tournament he’s going to win a couple of games,” Pollard had said on Saturday.
“It might be when we need him the most, perhaps in the semi-final and final so let’s not count him out just yet.”
Last season, Islamabad United finished third in the league stage and ended up lifting the trophy. With a defeat to Kings in the last game of the league, United ended up fourth and Kings climbed up to finish third. Karachi Kings won back to back matches and two of their hard hitters have finally found form; they’d be hoping to repeat what Islamabad did last season. United and Kings would be taking on each other again in the eliminator on March 1. United thrashed them by 9 wickets in the eliminator last season and Kings would be hoping to exact revenge.
Zalmi vs Gladiators:
Peshawar Zalmi finished at the top of the table last season but lost the first qualifier against Quetta Gladiators in a fiercely contested game by a single run. That victory sent Gladiators to the final and Zalmi to the second qualifier against Islamabad United, where United thrashed them by 50 runs to book a place in the final. Zalmi would be hoping to reverse the trend, whereas Gladiators would be hoping more of the same. Shahid Afridi dragged Zalmi to a victory against Gladiators in their previous meeting, but they’d be looking to avoid another top order collapse. For Gladiators, Rilee Rossouw and Kevin Pietersen have scored crucial runs—238 and 201 runs overall respectively—and the skipper Sarfraz Ahmed would be hoping for one of them to continue that form. Umar Gul’s absence will hurt Gladiators but IPL-bound Tymal Mills is there to shoulder the burden.
The winner of this game will go straight to the final and avoid the hassle of playing the second qualifier. Peshawar Zalmi coach Mohammad Akram knew the importance of finishing at the top of the table and said after the last game: “It was an important match. We had a meeting before the match and we had decided that if we manage to finish No 1 or No 2, we could have two bites at the cherry, there are two chances available. And if we win three consecutive matches, we can clinch the trophy,” said Akram.
This is going to be an intense encounter between two evenly matched teams perfectly adept to tense situations.
