Noor Ahmad, 16, returned impressive figures of 4-0-19-2 to help Karachi Kings beat Lahore Qalandars by seven runs in Match 27 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
The win kept Karachi at fifth place of the points table, with eight points. Lahore, on the other hand, are at third, with 10.
Babar Azam (54 off 44) and Martin Guptill (43 off 31) added 88 runs for the second wicket after Imad Wasim won the toss and opted to bat. Danish Aziz (16* off 10) and Imad (30* of 19) forged an unbeaten 44-run stand to take Karachi to 176/5.
Rashid Khan (2-25) was the most economical Lahore bowler. Shaheen Afridi (1-41), Ahmed Daniyal (1-34), and Mohammad Hafeez (1-4) claimed a wicket each.
Fakhar Zaman hit two sixes in Imad’s opening over but failed to keep the momentum going. His 26-ball 19 came to an end in the ninth over. Sohail Akhtar (21 of 14) showed urgency but he did not last long. After claiming Ben Dunk’s (6) wicket early, Ahmad dismissed Mohammad Hafeez (36 off 36) in the 14th over. Lahore were 92/5 at this stage.
The breakthrough partnership of the match came after that, between James Faulkner (33 off 18) and Tim David (34 off 14). They smashed 58 in 24 balls before David fell to Abbas Afridi (1-29). Lahore required 27 off the final two overs to win the contest.
Mohammad Amir conceded just seven runs in the penultimate over to keep Karachi on the upper hand. Rashid (11* off 6) tried at late before Lahore closed on 169/7.
Brief Scores
Karachi Kings 176/5 in 20 overs (Azam 54; Rashid 2-25) beat Lahore Qalandars 169/7 (Hafeez 36; Ahmad 2-19) by 7 runs. Player of the Match: Noor Ahmad.