Tag: Pakistan Super League

KARACHI: Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) most-followed franchise Karachi Kings on Friday, held an optional training session ahead of their home clash against Quetta Gladiators, scheduled on Saturday.

According to the details, all-rounders Ben Cutting and James Fuller alongside pacers Ifran Khan Niazi and Aamer Yamin partook in the Kings’ optional training session, under the supervision of head coach Johan Botha.

Meanwhile, batting coach Ravi Bopara and assistant coach Michael Smith were also present in the Kings’ optional training session.

It is pertinent to mention that the Kings will take on Sarfaraz Ahmed-led Gladiators in their third PSL 8 fixture on Saturday here at National Bank Cricket Arena.

The Kings are yet to taste the triumph in the ongoing PSL 8 and will be eyeing to end the jinx against Gladiators, who, are also searching for the maiden triumph in this year’s extravaganza.

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MULTAN: Peshawar Zalmi have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Multan Sultans in the fifth match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.

PLAYING XIs

Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Shan Masood, Rilee Rossouw, David Miller, Kieron Pollard, Khushdil Shah, Carlos Brathwaite, Usama Mir, Sameen Gul, Abbas Afridi, Ihsanullah.

Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Haris, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, James Neesham, Rovman Powell, Wahab Riaz, Khurram Shahzad, Sufiyan Muqeem, Salman Irshad.

HEAD TO HEAD

Matches-11, Multan Sultans-8, Peshawar Zalmi-3

Peshawar Zalmi have released the official team anthem, named ‘ZalmiRaalal’, on Friday for the Pakitan Super League season 8. 

Featuring renowned faces of the glamour industry, Hamza Ali Abbasi and Mahira Khan, the anthem was produced by famous British-Pakistani DJ Shahid Khan aka Naughty Boy.

Zahoor, Bilaal Avaz & Altamash Sever Butt gave their voices to the trilingual song with Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa-based musical band, Khumariyan, playing a mesmerizing instrumental part.

Hassan Dawar directed the video of the anthem in which Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam and head coach Daren Sammy played roles too.

The anthem was released on the official Youtube channel of Peshawar Zalmi on Friday.

It may be noted here that 2017 PSL Champions Zalmi kicked off their PSL 8 campaign on a high note as they beat Karachi Kings in a nail-biter on Tuesday.

The Babar-led side will play 2021 PSL Champions Multan Sultans on Friday in the fifth match of the tournament at Multan Cricket Stadium.

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KARACHI: New Zealand’s Colin Munro has lauded his Islamabad United teammate Azam Khan for his hard-hit batting abilities, saying he fails to understand ‘why one of the best batters in the country’ is not part of the Pakistan team. 

Munro, who played an outstanding knock of 28-ball 58 during Islamabad United’s four-wicket win over Karachi Kings in the fourth match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) last night, said he found Azam an ‘amazing’ batter the way he bats and could not understand why he is out of Pakistan’s national side.

“My goodness if he (Azam) is one of best batters in the country, then why not get him in there (Pakistan team)” he said in a post-match press conference on Thursday.

Wicketkeeper batter Azam is one of the most sought-after players in franchise leagues throughout the globe. Known for his pinch-hitting, the right-hander smashed 48 from 28, including six fours and a six, yesterday and tightened his side’s grip on the game while chasing 174 runs.

The 24-year-old, who is playing his second PSL season for Islamabad United, rose to prominence during the 2018 edition of the PSL when he was picked by Quetta Gladiators, where his father and former Pakistan wicket-keeper batter Moin Khan was a head coach.

He also made his international debut for Pakistan in 2021 against England in Nottingham.

READ: PCB announces 50pc discount on PSL 8 tickets for children

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday gave a major relief to young cricket fans as the ticket prices for the remaining Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight matches here have been reduced by 50 percent for those under the age of 18.

According to the details, the discount is only valid for the league matches, scheduled to be held here and only one ticket can be bought on each B-Form.

“To provide young cricket fans an opportunity to see the cricket stars in action up close, the Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to provide 50 per cent discount to those under the age of 18 for the HBL Pakistan Super League 8 matches in Karachi,” stated PCB.

“This discount is applicable for all matches and one ticket can be bought on a B-Form. Each child will be required to bring their B-Form, on which they have bought the ticket, to enter the stadium.

“This discount is part of the PCB’s efforts to continue to inspire the next generation to take up the sport.”

It is pertinent to mention that the National Bank Cricket Arena here will host a total of nine PSL 8 matches including the much-anticipated clash between Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars on Sunday (February 19).

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KARACHI: Islamabad United batters Colin Munro and Azam Khan bolstered the touring side to seal a comprehensive four-wicket victory over Karachi Kings in the fourth match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.

Set to chase 174, Islamabad United completed the run chase in the 19th over for the loss of six wickets with Munro leading the way for the visitors with a brisk half-century.

Earlier, the United had a dismal start to the run chase as the side lost both their openers Hassan Nawaz (7) and Paul Stirling (4) for a combined score of mere 21 runs in the fifth over.

Following the slump, Munro anchored the run chase with a gritty 59-run partnership with Rassie van der Dussen (31) before the latter perished in the 10th over to Kings’ skipper Imad Wasim.

Munro then put on yet another vital partnership with wicketkeeper batter Azam Khan and put the United in command as the pair raised 56 runs in just 32 deliveries before a mix-up between the wicket resulted in Munro walking back to the pavilion.

The left-handed batter top-scored for the United with 58 off 28 deliveries including five boundaries and four sixes.

Azam, on the other hand, kept United in control with belligerent hitting before finally perishing in the 16th over after scoring a 28-ball 44 that featured six boundaries and a six.

Faheem Ashraf’s cameo of 14 runs after Azam’s dismissal and Tom Curran’s unbeaten 10 made sure the United sailed through in their first match of the PSL 8.

Mohammad Amir and Muhammad Musa bagged two wickets each for the Kings, while Imad could make one scalp.

Put into bat first, the Kings accumulated a mammoth 173/7 in their allotted 20 overs at the back of a magnificent half-century by Haider Ali.

The home side got off to a shaky start as they lost their opener James Vince (4) cheaply for a mere five runs in the first over.

Following the early setback, Haider put on a gritty second-wicket partnership with Sharjeel Khan and anchored the innings.

The duo added 77 runs for the stand before Curran removed Sharjeel to hand United a much-needed breakthrough. The left-handed batter scored 34 off 26 deliveries with the help of four boundaries and a six.

Haider, on the other hand, continued to dominate the United bowlers and soon brought up his fifty in 38 deliveries amid his vital partnership with Matthew Wade (18) for the third wicket.

The right-handed young batter then could not manage to stretch his outstanding knock and fell victim to Faheem Ashraf in the 15th over.

He top-scored for the Kings with 59 off 45 balls, laced with seven boundaries and two sixes.

Haider’s dismissal triggered a frustrating collapse which resulted in the Kings slipping to 125/5 in the 16th over.

The brief collapse, however, did not bother the Kings’ march towards a competitive total as the side managed to raise a decent total on the board; courtesy of significant cameos from Irfan Khan Niazi (19) and James Fuller (12) at the death.

For the United, Rumman Raees, Mohammad Wasim Jr and Curran bagged two wickets each while Faheem could pick one.

KARACHI: Islamabad United batters Colin Munro and Azam Khan bolstered the touring side to seal a comprehensive four-wicket victory over Karachi Kings in the fourth match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.

IU 178/6 (18.2 Overs)

Shoaib Malik to bowl the 19th

IU 171/6 (18 Overs)

Amir comes to bowl his last

IU 157/5 (17 Overs)

Imad comes back to bowl his last

IU 151/5 (16 Overs)

15.6: Azam Khan tried to whip the full ball to midwicket and connected quite well. But fired it straight to Haider Ali, who took a regulation catch at the fence.

Musa comes back

IU 137/4 (15 Overs)

Fuller replaces Amir

IU 128/3 (14 Overs)

Tye replaces Musa

IU 114/3 (13 Overs)

Amir comes back into the attack

IU 109/3 (12 Overs)

Musa replaces Imad

IU 94/3 (11 Overs)

Tye replaces Fuller

IU 83/3 (10 Overs)

Imad continues

IU 79/2 (9 Overs)

Fuller continues

IU 65/2 (8 Overs)

Imad replaces Tye

IU 60/2 (7 Overs)

James Fuller comes into the attack

IU 45/2 (6 Overs)

Andrew Tye comes to bowl his first

IU 35/2 (5 Overs)

4.1: Musa undoes Stirling with an in-swinging yorker. Stirling was looking to heave it away, but misread the length and hit on the pads. The ball would have crashed into the middle.

Musa continues

IU 21/1 (4 Overs)

Amir continues

IU 14/1 (3 Overs)

Musa comes to bowl his first

IU 8/1 (2 Overs)

Mohammad Amir to bowl from the other end

IU 4/0 (1 Over)

Paul Stirling and Hasan Nawaz come out to bat for the United. Imad Wasim to bowl the first over.

KARACHI KINGS vs ISLAMABAD UNITED (2nd INNINGS)

KARACHI: Karachi Kings’ top-order batter Haider Ali struck a magnificent half-century and powered his side to pile 173/7 against Islamabad United in the fourth match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.

KK 173/7 (20 Overs)

Rumman to bowl the final over

KK 163/6 (19 Overs)

Curran to bowl the 19th

KK 145/5 (18 Overs)

Wasim Jr comes to bowl his last

KK 132/5 (17 Overs)

Curran replaces Faheem

KK 126/5 (16 Overs)

15.5: Banged in short, was just a shade outside off, which meant Imad had to fetch it. Gets the pull out but hits it hard straight to Asif Ali at midwicket.

15.4: Short of a length ball around the hips. Wade looks for a pull, but can only get a glove on it and Azam dives to his right to complete a good catch.

Wasim Jr comes back

KK 121/3 (15 Overs)

14.4: Slower ball into the surface. Haider was a bit early into his shot, gets it off the bottom of his bat and Rassie van der Dussen takes a simple catch.

Faheem replaces Rumman

KK 115/2 (14 Overs)

Shadab comes to bowl his last

KK 105/2 (13 Overs)

Raees replaces Curran

KK 97/2 (12 Overs)

Shadab comes again

KK 84/2 (11 Overs)

Curran replaces Faheem

KK 81/1 (10 Overs)

Shadab continues

KK 68/1 (9 Overs)

Faheem continues

KK 63/1 (8 Overs)

Shadab Khan comes into the attack

KK 59/1 (7 Overs)

Faheem replaces Curran

KK 55/1 (6 Overs)

Wasim Jr continues

KK 42/1 (5 Overs)

Tom Curran comes to bowl his first

KK 26/1 (4 Overs)

Mohammad Wasim Jr comes into the attack

KK 18/1 (3 Overs)

Rumman continues

KK 15/1 (2 Overs)

Faheem Ashraf to bowl from the other end

KK 5/1 (1 Over)

0.6: Vince looked to clip it over midwicket, but the ball shapes into the right-hander and pierces through the gap between bat and pad.

James Vince and Sharjeel Khan come out to bat for the Kings. Rumman Raees to bowl the first over.

KARACHI KINGS VS ISLAMABAD UNITED (1st INNINGS)

KARACHI: Islamabad United have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Karachi Kings in the fourth match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.

PLAYING XIs

Islamabad United: Hasan Nawaz, Paul Stirling, Colin Munro, Rassie van der Dussen, Shadab Khan (c), Azam Khan, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Tom Curran, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Rumman Raees

Karachi Kings: James Vince, Sharjeel Khan, Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim (c), Matthew Wade, Irfanullah Niazi, James Fuller, Andrew Tye, Mohammad Amir, Musa Khan.

HEAD TO HEAD

Matches-18, Islamabad United-12, Karachi Kings-6

KARACHI: Islamabad United have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Karachi Kings in the fourth match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.

PLAYING XIs

Islamabad United: Hasan Nawaz, Paul Stirling, Colin Munro, Rassie van der Dussen, Shadab Khan (c), Azam Khan, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Tom Curran, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Rumman Raees

Karachi Kings: James Vince, Sharjeel Khan, Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim (c), Matthew Wade, Irfanullah Niazi, James Fuller, Andrew Tye, Mohammad Amir, Musa Khan.

HEAD TO HEAD

Matches-18, Islamabad United-12, Karachi Kings-6

KARACHI: Karachi Kings’ left-arm pacer Mir Hamza has been ruled out of the remainder of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) eight due to an injury.

According to the details, Hamza fractured one of his fingers amid his side’s opening clash against Peshawar Zalmi on Tuesday which resulted in him ruling out of the ongoing marquee league.

The Kings are yet to announce Hamza’s replacement for the remainder of the league.

Taking to Twitter, Hamza’s PSL franchise Kings confirmed that the pacer fractured one of his fingers due to which he has been ruled out of the ongoing season.

“Fast bowler Mir Hamza has been ruled out of [PSL 8] due to a fractured finger,” wrote Kings.

“Our thoughts are with him, and we wish him a speedy recovery. The Karachi Kings family is with you, Mir!” Kings added.

Fast bowler Mir Hamza has been ruled out of #HBLPSL8 due to a fractured finger.

Our thoughts are with him, and we wish him a speedy recovery. The Karachi Kings family is with you, Mir!#YehHaiKarachi | #KingsSquad pic.twitter.com/3nPlpY2NN5

— Karachi Kings (@KarachiKingsARY) February 15, 2023

 

Hamza was part of the Kings’ Playing XI during their two-run defeat against Zalmi in their opening match of PSL 8 on Tuesday.

The left-arm pacer could bowl two overs in the thriller against Zalmi and picked up a wicket for 13 runs.

It is pertinent to mention that the Kings will lock horns with Islamabad United in their second PSL 8 fixture on Thursday.

MULTAN: Multan Sultan’s young pacer Ihsanullah wreaked havoc over the strong Quetta Gladiators batting lineup before Rilee Rossouw powered the home side to a dominating nine-wicket victory with an unbeaten 78-run knock.

Set to chase a mere 111, the Sultans sealed the victory in style in the 14th over as Rossouw smashed back-to-back sixes to Mohammad Nawaz and finished as the top-scorer with an unbeaten 78.

The Sultans had a shaky start to the run chase as Shan Masood fell on the first delivery on the second over after managing to score a mere three.

Following the early hiccup, Sultans’ skipper Mohammad Rizwan anchored the run chase with Rossouw as the duo put on a match-winning 108-run partnership and made sure his side claim two valuable points.

Rossouw was the core aggressor of the match-winning partnership as he scored a quickfire 78 off just 42 deliveries, laced with nine boundaries and three sixes, while Rizwan remained unbeaten on 34-ball 28.

Nuwan Thusara, who provided the Gladiators with an early breakthrough, remained the only bowler to pick up a wicket for the touring side.

Put into bat first, the Sultans’ pacers dominated a star-studded Gladiators’ batting lineup and bundled them out for a mere 110 runs in the 19th over.

The Gladiators found themselves in trouble against Sultans’ bowling attack right from the start as Sameen Gul handed the home side an early breakthrough in the second over by removing Martin Guptill (7) with just 10 runs on the scoreboard.

Hard-hitting opening batter Jason Roy then put on a brief second-wicket partnership with young Abdul Wahid Bangalzai before the latter perished after scoring a mere one.

The Gladiators then began to lose wickets at an alarming rate with Ihsanullah running through their lineup with five wickets in his first three overs, and eventually ended up with the seventh-best bowling figures of PSL’s history.

The side slipped from 33/1 to 68/8 in the span of just 52 deliveries before experienced batter Mohammad Hafeez alongside Mohammad Hasnain began the recovery.

The pair added a vital 31 runs for the ninth-wicket stand before Hasnain perished in an attempt to hit back-to-back sixes. He scored 22 off 20 deliveries with the help of two boundaries and a six.

Roy, however, remained the top-scorer for the Gladiators with 27 off 18 deliveries, while Hafeez could score 18 off 15.

Ihsanullah led the bowling attack for the Sultans with 5/12, while Abbas Afridi and Sameen bagged two wickets each.

READ: Ihsanullah registers seventh-best bowling figures of PSL