KARACHI: Quetta Gladiators clinched a thrilling victory over Karachi Kings by 5 wickets in a nail-biting encounter of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9th edition at the Karachi National Stadium on Thursday night.
West Indies’ hard-hitter Sherfane Rutherford played a blinder of a knock to beat Karachi Kings on the last ball in the 16th match of the PSL.
Quetta Gladiators were 89 for five when the Windies’ duo of Rutherford and Akeal Hosein took charge of the chase and successfully completed it.
The pair added 80 runs for the fourth wicket, with Rutherford scoring 31-ball 58, which included six maximums and a four, while Akeal supported with a valuable 22 of 17 balls.
Opting to bat first, Karachi Kings posted a competitive total of 165-8 in their allotted twenty overs, powered by James Vince’s dynamic innings of 37 runs off 25 balls and Anwar Ali’s explosive knock of 25 runs from just 14 deliveries.
The Karachi Kings’ innings witnessed a jittery start, with skipper Shan Masood falling early to the bowling of Akeal Hosein. However, a crucial partnership between Vince and Tim Seifert, 59 runs, stabilized the innings before Usman Tariq dismissed both batters.
Despite contributions from Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Nawaz, the Karachi Kings lost wickets at regular intervals, with Abrar Ahmed leading the bowling attack for Quetta Gladiators, claiming three crucial wickets.
In response, Quetta Gladiators displayed resilience and composure as they chased down the target of 166 runs in 20 overs, losing five wickets in the process. Led by Sherfane Rutherford’s impressive 31-ball 58 and supported by the rest of the batting lineup, Quetta Gladiators successfully overcame the challenge posed by Karachi Kings’ bowling attack.
Karachi Kings Team
Shan Masood (c), Tim Seifert (wk), James Vince, Shoaib Malik, Kieron Pollard, Mohammad Nawaz, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Anwar Ali, Hasan Ali, Zahid Mehmood, Blessing Muzarabani
Quetta Gladiators Team
Jason Roy, Saud Shakeel, Khawaja Nafay, Rilee Rossouw (c), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Akeal Hosein, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sohail Khan, Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed
