Karachi Kings hold nerve in final-over thriller against Peshawar Zalmi

Karachi Kings held their nerve in an exciting finish to sneak past Peshawar Zalmi by two wickets in a nail-biting contest at the National Stadium on Monday night.

In what was one of the closest contests of the season so far, it took grit from David Warner at the top and nerve from Khushdil Shah at the end to see Karachi home with just three balls to spare in pursuit of a 148-run target.

Chasing a modest total on a pitch that kept bowlers interested throughout, Karachi made hard work of what initially looked like a comfortable chase to bag their third win of the HBL PSL 2025 season.

Leading from the front

Karachi’s chase started on a positive note courtesy skipper Warner’s composed half-century.

The veteran left-hander, playing his debut HBL PSL season, held the innings together with a well-paced 60 off 47 balls, anchoring the top order while wickets tumbled around him.

“I'm very very happy, another difficult wicket, we took some learnings out of the last game,” Warner said in the post-match conference.

His innings, which included seven boundaries and a six, looked like he would steer the home side to a smooth win before losing his wicket in the 17th over.

Zalmi’s bowlers then tightened up, picking three wickets in the space of two overs and suddenly dragging the contest into tense territory.

Khushdil’s all-round brilliance

That’s when Khushdil Shah stepped up, not with the ball this time, but with the bat. Having already delivered earlier in the evening with a three-wicket haul, the all-rounder played a calm and calculated hand, scoring an unbeaten 23 off 17 balls.

“Karachi is giving me the opportunity with ball and bat as I prefer and it's working well,” Khushdil said after he was awarded the Player of the Match.

He resisted the temptation to go big early, instead nudging singles, finding gaps, and ensuring Karachi didn’t panic under pressure.

Bowlers set tone

Earlier, Zalmi had struggled to post a competitive total after being put into bat. Babar Azam, who failed to leave a mark in the first three games, stood tall for his side for once.

The star batter scored 46 off 41 balls but lacked support from the middle order.

Khushdil and Abbas Afridi wreaked havoc with the ball, claiming three wickets each and triggering a mid-innings collapse that saw Zalmi slip from 104/3 to 136/8 by the 19th over.

Mohammad Haris chipped in with a lively 28, and Hussain Talat added 18, but the Kings’ bowling unit, backed by sharp fielding, ensured that Zalmi never got away.

In the end, it took a complete all-round performance from Khushdil and a timely knock from Warner to help Karachi cross the line.

The win vaults them into the top half of the PSL table and leaves Peshawar still searching for consistency in what’s been a stuttering campaign so far.