Fakhar Zaman ton powers Lahore Qalandars to victory over Karachi Kings

ISLAMABAD: Lahore Qalandars overcame archrivals Karachi Kings to win their first match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022 by six wickets at Karachi’s National Stadium on Sunday.
The high-voltage match between the two PSL giants — favorites among fans due to wild competition between Pakistan’s cultural heart Lahore and the economic backbone Karachi — was watched by hundreds of spectators live.
Kings handed Qalandars an impressive 171-run target after batting first. Qalandars were fraught early on as opening batter Abdullah Shafique and Kamran Ghulam fell for 8 and 6 runs, respectively.
However, left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman saw his team through the difficult phase of the match, scoring a blistering 106 runs off 60 balls. During his innings, Zaman hit 12 fours and four sixes before he was dismissed by Umaid Asif.
Mohammad Hafeez and Samit Patel made valuable contributions by scoring 24 and 26 runs, respectively. Patel saw Qalandars to victory with a boundary.
Umaid Asif took two wickets for Qalandars, while Mohammad Nabi and Imad Wasim dismissed one each.
The recent defeat is a setback for Karachi Kings, who are yet to secure a win in the tournament. The side sits at the bottom of the points table and is the only one in the tournament without a win so far.
Earlier in the Karachi Kings innings, opening batters Sharjeel Khan and skipper Babar Azam gave their side a flying start, making good use of the powerplay to build a 50-run partnership.
Khan scored a quickfire 60 off 39 balls, hitting three sixes and eight fours before he was clean bowled by Mohammad Hafeez.
Babar never looked comfortable at the crease and was bowled once again by Afghan spinner Rashid Khan, who had gotten the better of the Pakistani captain during the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 last year too.
Mohammad Nabi, Aamer Yamin, Lewis Gregory, Sahibzada Farhan and Imad Wasim all failed to score big as Lahore pacer Haris Rauf skittled Kings by taking three quick wickets. Rauf finished with figures of 3/33 from his four overs.