• Islamabad United defeat Karachi Kings by six wickets.
• Azam managed to stay unbeaten for 72 runs in 41 balls.
• Rassie and Alex Hales contributed 50 runs in 30 balls.

At the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on Friday, the 19th game of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight saw Islamabad United defeat Karachi Kings by six wickets.

Azam managed to stay unbeaten for 72 runs in 41 balls while pursuing a 202-run mark, helping Islamabad come home in 19.2 overs.

Rassie van der Dussen and Alex Hales contributed 50 runs in 30 balls for the second wicket to keep United on course during the run-chase after losing Colin Munro, who scored 11 runs in five balls, in the opening over.

Islamabad was reduced to 69-3 in 7.2 overs as Hales and Dussen both quickly fell after scoring 34 and 22 runs, respectively.

Azam Khan and Faheem Ashraf put together an outstanding century partnership at this point—124 runs in 69 balls—to maintain Islamabad in command of the run chase.

In the penultimate over of the innings, Asif Ali hit a six and a four to end the run-chase.

Imad Wasim shone earlier as Karachi Kings gave Islamabad United a challenging 202-run target.

The captain of Karachi scored 92 runs in 54 balls while smashing the ball all over the field.

Karachi scored 61 runs in the powerplay after opting to bat first, but three wickets were lost in the process.

After being cleaned up by Rumman Raees, Sharjeel Khan (#8), who was making a comeback in the side, was the first to be ejected.

The second batsman from Karachi to leave the field after making a brief cameo of 19 runs in eight balls was Tayyab Tahir. The bowler who was successful in this instance was Tom Curran.

Hasan Ali’s slower ball caused Adam Rossington to misjudge it, and he was thus out. With just 16 balls, he scored 20 runs.

Faheem Ashraf dismissed veteran batsman Shoaib Malik after a ball slid between his bat and pad as he attempted to play a drive.

At this point, the captain Imad Wasim took charge of the innings as he and Irfan Khan contributed 99 runs for the fifth wicket in 56 balls. After a magnificent relay catch close to the boundary line, Hasan Ali ran across to his left while tripping over the rope and flicked the ball out of his hand to Rassie van der Dussen who was approaching from long off. This ended the partnership. Irfan, who hit 30 runs in 20 balls, was forced to leave because of the excellent fielding performance.

Tom Curran took two wickets for Islamabad but also allowed 43 runs in his four overs.

It should be remembered that Karachi chose to bowl first against Islamabad after winning the toss.

Karachi, who are now in fifth place on the points table, were in dire need of a victory to maintain their playoff hopes. Only two of the eight games played by the Imad Wasim-led team have been victories in the competition.

With eight points after six games, Islamabad are in a stronger situation. They presently hold the third spot on the points standings, behind Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars, respectively (second).

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