KARACHI: An unbeaten half-century by Babar Azam anchored Karachi Kings to their maiden Pakistan Super League title after beating Lahore Qalandars by five wickets in the final on Tuesday.
Azam’s 63 not out off 49 balls propelled Karachi to 135-5 with eight balls to spare.
Lahore misread the slow pitch and labored to 134-7.
Azam finished the tournament, which resumed on Saturday after being suspended for eight months by the pandemic, as the leading run-scorer with 473. He gauged the pitch in the final to perfection, hitting seven boundaries.
Azam raised his half-century with back to back boundaries against Pakistan’s premier pace bowler, Shaheen Afridi, and captain Imad Wasim hit the winning runs, a boundary through the covers against the left-arm fast bowler in the penultimate over.
Chadwick Walton, who made 22, combined with Azam for 61 from 50 balls for the third wicket.
Earlier, Lahore’s lineup packed with power-hitters stuttered against Karachi’s all-Pakistan bowling attack after Umaid Asif was picked ahead of South African left-arm fast bowler Wayne Parnell.
Tamim Iqbal (35) and Fakhar Zaman (27) opened with 68 but consumed half of the overs.
Asif removed both openers within four balls and, when Mohammad Hafeez holed out, Lahore lost three wickets in the space of two runs.
In the death overs, Samit Patel and Ben Dunk fell to false strokes against medium pacer Arshad Iqbal, 2-26. Fast bowler Waqar Maqsood capped a brilliant bowling performance by Karachi when he had two wickets in the penultimate over. Lahore let 52 balls go for dots in its first final.
Babar Azam leads Karachi to maiden PSL title
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Babar Azam leads Karachi to maiden PSL title
- Unbeaten half-century by Azam anchored Karachi Kings to PSL title after beating Lahore Qalandars by five wickets
- Azam’s 63 not out off 49 balls propelled Karachi to 135-5 with eight balls to spare
Pakistan’s first non-life Shariah-compliant takaful operator says ‘historic’ IPO oversubscribed 21 times
- Pak-Qatar General Takaful Limited offered 30 million shares to investors with ceiling price of Rs14 per share
- Company says IPO proceeds will be used for investments in software, infrastructure, setting up new branches
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s first non-life Shariah-compliant takaful operator announced on Thursday that its initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed 21 times at the country’s stock exchange, saying the development reflected strong investor confidence in the Islamic insurance system.
The Pak-Qatar General Takaful Limited said earlier this month it would issue 30 million shares with a floor price of Rs 10 and a ceiling price of Rs 14 per share. Institutional investors will receive 75 percent of the shares on offer, while the remaining 25 percent will be allocated to retail investors, it added.
“Pak-Qatar General Takaful Limited’s (PQGTL) IPO book-building has concluded with a historic oversubscription of [21x] times, marking the first-ever IPO of a dedicated General Takaful company at PSX,” the company said in a statement.
It said investors responded “strongly” as the strike price closed at Rs 14 per share, compared to the floor price of Rs 10. Total demand reached Rs 4.74 billion [$17 million].
The company said successful bidders will be provisionally allotted 22.5 million shares while the remaining 7.5 million shares will be offered to retail investors on Jan. 28-29.
Shahid Ali Habib, CEO of Arif Habib Ltd., which was the lead manager for the IPO, said that country’s first-ever IPO of any dedicated general takaful company, has made a historic debut at PSX.
Habib said this reflects investor confidence in Pakistan’s fast-growing takaful sector and PQGTL’s strong market position.
The statement further said proceeds from the IPO will be utilized to fund strategic initiatives, such as investments in software and other intangible assets, hardware and infrastructure, marketing and brand development and human resource enhancement.
Proceeds will also be used to establish new branches and transform existing ones to improve operational efficiency and customer experience, it added.
Pak-Qatar General Takaful Limited is part of Pakistan’s pioneer Islamic financial services group and is backed by Qatar-based financial institutions.
