Islamabad United romped over to an eight-wicket victory against Karachi Kings. A rapid yet huge opening stand from Colin Munro and Iftikhar Ahmed made a mockery of a target of 191. Islamabad chased it down, losing just two wickets and eight balls to spare.
The victory helped Islamabad retain their top spot in the points table, while Karachi slumped to the fourth position.
Shadab Khan won the toss and invited Karachi to bat first. Sharjeel Khan and Babar Azam got them off a decent start, adding 37 in just over four overs before Sharjeel fell to Akif Javed. Martin Guptill was then bowled by Mohammad Wasim Jr for 6.
Najibullah Zadran then joined Babar, and the duo added 117 runs for the third wicket. Babar made 81 in 54 balls with seven fours and three sixes. He was ably assisted by Najibullah, who made an unbeaten 71 off 42 deliveries to propel Karachi to 190.
Islamabad lost Usman Khawaja in the fifth over in response. Khwaja struggled to get going and made 12 off 16 balls. They lost Muhammad Akhlaq as well, bowled by Waqas Maqsood.
But Munro and Iftikhar then put on a stellar show, clobbering the bowlers all over the park. They combined to hit 17 fours and 7 sixes. Munro (88* in 56) was a bit cautious in the beginning, but Iftikhar (71* in 39) did not hold himself back at any point.
Brief score: Karachi Kings 190/4 in 20 overs (Babar 81; Hasan 1-31) by 8 wickets lost to Islamabad United 191/2 in 18.4 overs (Munro 88*; Maqsood 1-27). Player of the Match: Iftikhar Ahmed.