Azam Blitz surpasses Imad’s heroics as Islamabad United Karachi Kings.

Rawalpindi: Azam Khan played a brilliant innings of 72 runs in pursuit of runs as Islamabad United defeated Karachi Kings by six wickets in the 19th match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) Season 8.

Set to chase down 202, United cruised to victory in the last over as the team finished at 4/202 thanks to a brilliant innings from wicketkeeper-batsman Azam.

United’s run chase got off to a disappointing start as Mohammad Amir struck again in his first over to give Karachi Kings an early lead in the form of Colin Munro, who scored 11 off five balls.

After an early setback, Alex Hales joined hands with Rasi van der Dusen and scripted his team’s recovery with a brisk 50-run partnership for the second wicket.

The pair looked very much in touch before Aamir Yamin castled Alex Hales on the brink of the powerplay. He scored a quick 34 runs off just 16 balls with the help of four fours and two sixes.

Tabriz Shamsi bowled compatriot van der Dusen in his first over and powered the Kings to restrict United to 69/3 in the eighth over.

After the fall, Azam chased the runs with a crucial fourth-wicket partnership with Faheem Ashraf and put his team in complete control.

The pair added 125 runs at a brisk pace before Faheem perished in the 19th over due to a mix-up while running between the wickets.

The left-hander fell nine runs short of his half-century as he scored 41 off 32 balls with the help of a four and two sixes.

Meanwhile, Azam took his bat all the way before Asif Ali completed the chase with 10 off just two balls in the first two balls of the 20th over.

Azam scored a quick-fire 72 off just 41 balls for United, hitting a dozen fours, including four sixes.

On behalf of Kings, Aamir, Shamsi and Yameen could get one wicket each.

Opting to bat first, Kings piled up a must-win win against home side United thanks to their captain Imad Wasim’s brilliant knock of 92 runs.

Earlier, Kings got off to a dismal start as Sharjeel Khan fell in the third over after managing just eight runs off six balls.

After rocking their side with an early blow, Adam Rossington and Tayyab Tahir launched a counter-attack against United’s bowlers as the pair forged a short but effective partnership for the second wicket. The latter scored 37 runs in just 16 balls before being dismissed.

Tayyab looked to heave a length delivery from Tom Curran but miscued Hasan Ali straight at mid-off and dropped back after scoring 19 off just eight balls.

Kings then suffered a major blow when Rossington (20) and Shoaib Malik (12) departed in quick succession. As a result, Kings slipped to 78/4 in the ninth over.

With his team losing momentum, Imad stood up for his team and took on the United bowlers with his batting all over the park.

The skipper put on a brilliant partnership of 99 runs with Irfan Khan Niazi and completely took charge of his team to build a big total.

Imad was the main aggressor of the fifth-wicket partnership, while Niazi held on to his final strength before Hasan and Rasi van der Dusen’s brilliant teamwork caught them, bringing them down for 30 runs off their crucial 20 balls, which included four fours. were included.

Imad continued his attack after Niazi’s dismissal and received significant support from Matthew Wade, who scored an unbeaten 13 off six balls, taking the Kings past the 200-run mark.

Imad scored an unbeaten 92 off 54 balls with the help of 11 fours and two sixes.

Karan led United’s bowling attack with two wickets but at a cost, while Roman, Faheem and Hasan dismissed a batsman each.