KARACHI, Pakistan: Karachi Kings qualified for the semifinals and eliminated two-time champion Islamabad United from the Pakistan Super League after a four-wicket win on Saturday.
Islamabad, playing without its four departed overseas players, was restricted to 136-6 after being sent in to bat in a National Stadium empty of fans because of coronavirus fears.
Karachi won with 137-6 in 19.2 overs.
Sharjeel Khan, with 37 from 14 balls, provided Karachi a whirlwind start of 60 runs in the first five overs. But the dismissals of Sharjeel by fast bowler Akif Javed, and Babar Azam, bowled on 19 by paceman Mohammad Musa, helped Islamabad to take the game deep.
Legspinner Shadab Khan grabbed 2-28 to leave Karachi needing 18 off the last two overs.
No. 8 batsman Umaid Asif (13 not out) hit a six off Shadab in the penultimate over, and hit the winning boundary against left-arm seamer Rumman Raees.
Hussain Talat top-scored for Islamabad with 37 and Phil Sault, playing his first PSL game this season, made 25.
Offspinner Iftikhar Ahmed bowled well on a slow pitch and took 1-12 off his three overs as Islamabad struggled to accelerate in the latter half of its innings.
Islamabad, PSL winner in 2016 and 2018, won only three of its 10 league matches and missed the top four places for the first time.
Karachi plays for second on Sunday against Quetta Gladiators in the last league match.
Karachi reaches PSL semifinals, eliminates Islamabad
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Karachi reaches PSL semifinals, eliminates Islamabad
- This is the first time Pakistan is hosting all the PSL matches on home grounds
- Around 36 foreign cricketers took part in Pakistan’s biggest sporting event
Barcelona pounces on Real Madrid stumble and regains lead of La Liga with a 3-0 win over Levante
- Barcelona moved one point ahead of Madrid, which had won eight in a row in the league before losing to Osasuna
MADRID: Barcelona took advantage of Real Madrid’s stumble and regained the Spanish league lead with a comfortable 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Levante on Sunday.
Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong and Fermín López scored a goal each as Barcelona ended a two-game losing streak to get back in front of rival Madrid, which lost 2-1 at Osasuna on Saturday.
Barcelona moved one point ahead of Madrid, which had won eight in a row in the league before losing to Osasuna.
Barcelona was coming off a 2-1 loss to Girona in the league and a 4-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals.
“It was important to win and earn three points again,” Barcelona defender João Cancelo said. “Soccer gives you these opportunities to rebound and that’s what we did today, playing well again after two bad games.”
Barcelona had earned a clean sheet only once in its previous six games in all competitions.
Good start for Barcelona
Bernal scored from close range four minutes into the match at the Camp Nou Stadium. The 18-year-old Bernal had scored his first goal with the first team two rounds ago in a win over Mallorca.
“They had an early chance but my goal helped us settle and gain some confidence,” Bernal said.
De Jong added to the lead from inside the area in the 32nd and López sealed the victory with a beautiful long-range shot in the 81st, with the ball ricocheting off the post before going into the net.
Levante’s Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan kept Barcelona from adding the fourth with a pair of outstanding saves in a row in the final minutes, first off a header by Raphinha and then off a point-blank strike from López on the rebound.
It was the fourth straight defeat for Levante, which sits in 19th place. It is one point ahead of last-place Oviedo, which has a game in hand.
Levante has only one victory in its last eight matches.
Pedri entered the match in the 66th to make his return to action after an injury layoff.
Other results
Sevilla won 1-0 at 10-man Getafe for its second win in its last 10 matches in all competitions.
Djibril Sow scored a 64th-minute winner for the visitors. Getafe played a man down from the 26th after a straight red card for Djene Dakonam.
The result left Sevilla in 11th place, immediately above Getafe.
Third-place Villarreal, Barcelona’s next league opponent, can restore a three-point gap to fourth-place Atletico Madrid if it beats Valencia at home later Sunday. Atletico beat Espanyol 4-2 at home on Saturday.
