A scintillating 21-ball 48* from Muhammad Irfan Khan powered Karachi Kings to a stunning four-wicket victory over arch-rivals Lahore Qalandars in a rain-reduced 15-over contest at the Gaddafi Stadium.
Chasing a revised target of 168 under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, Irfan walked in at 74-3 in the seventh over and turned the tide of the game with a breathtaking display of power-hitting. His unbeaten knock, laced with five sixes and two fours, sealed the match with three balls to spare as Kings reached 168-6 in 14.3 overs.
The equation looked steep with 48 needed off 18 balls, but Irfan, alongside veteran Mohammad Nabi (15 off 8), unleashed carnage on Qalandars’ spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi, taking 21 runs off the 13th over. Irfan then smoked a massive six off Haris Rauf first ball of the penultimate over, followed by a Nabi blitz of 10 runs in two balls to bring the target within reach.
Although Nabi fell on the first ball of the final over, Irfan finished the chase in style, smashing Daryl Mitchell over long-on to complete a memorable win.
Karachi’s chase had earlier been set up by a brisk 40-run stand in 3.1 overs between openers Tim Seifert (24 off 10) and David Warner (24 off 13), while young Saad Baig (25 off 15) offered timely support in the middle overs.
With their fifth win in the tournament, Karachi Kings climbed to third place on the points table with 10 points, level with Islamabad United. Quetta Gladiators, with 11 points in eight matches, have become the first side to book a playoff berth.
Earlier, Lahore Qalandars appeared on course for a mammoth total as openers Mohammad Naeem and Fakhar Zaman posted a rollicking 90-run stand in just 7.5 overs. Naeem cracked 65 off 29 (6 fours, 5 sixes) — his second consecutive fifty — while Fakhar followed up with a composed 51 off 33 balls.
But the rain break at 7.5 overs halted their momentum. Upon resumption, Karachi’s bowlers, led by Mohammad Abbas Afridi, orchestrated a dramatic collapse. Qalandars lost seven wickets for just 39 runs, crashing from 90-0 to 160-8 in 15 overs. Abbas Afridi returned standout figures of 4-27 in three overs, dismantling Lahore’s middle and lower order.
Despite a late recalibration of the target, Qalandars couldn’t recover their grip on the game, succumbing to their eighth loss in the season.
Match Summary – Match 24, PSL X
Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Lahore Qalandars 160-8 in 15 overs
(Mohammad Naeem 65, Fakhar Zaman 51; Mohammad Abbas Afridi 4-27)
Karachi Kings 168-6 in 14.3 overs (DLS)
(Muhammad Irfan Khan 48*, Saad Baig 25, Tim Seifert 24, David Warner 24; Daryl Mitchell 2-9, Haris Rauf 2-40)
Player of the Match – Muhammad Irfan Khan (Karachi Kings)
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