United crush Kings to seal top-two finish in PSL

Alex Hales and Sahibzada Farhan sizzled with the bat while captain Shadab Khan delivered a superb all-round performance to help Islamabad United secure a top-two finish. They thrashed Karachi Kings by 79 runs in their final league match of HBL PSL X at the Pindi Stadium in Rawalpindi on Monday night.

Both United and Kings finished the group stage with 12 points, but United clinched second place due to a superior net run-rate.

United will now face group-stage leaders Quetta Gladiators in the qualifier on Wednesday at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.

Kings will meet Lahore Qalandars in the first eliminator on Thursday at the same venue.

Hales (88), Farhan (73) and Shadab (42) batted brilliantly to power United to 251-5.

Shadab (4-45), Salman Irshad (3-28), and Imad Wasim (2-22) then bowled out Kings for 172 in the 19th over.

Chasing a massive target, Karachi skipper David Warner (43) and Tim Seifert (26) gave a solid start, adding 56 off 32 balls.

Salman Irshad broke the stand by clean bowling Seifert with a yorker. Seifert hit five fours in his 17-ball knock.

Imad Wasim dismissed James Vince (8), while Agha Salman sent Saad Baig (5) back to leave Kings at 85-3 in the tenth over.

Imad then struck the decisive blow by bowling Warner, ending Karachi’s hopes of a comeback. Warner hit four fours and two sixes in his 28-ball innings.

From there, wickets fell rapidly. Abbas Afridi entertained briefly with a 13-ball 34, hitting three sixes and two fours before falling to Salman Irshad.

Earlier, United posted 251-5 after being asked to bat first on a flat pitch — the second-highest total of this season.

Openers Hales and Farhan were ruthless, punishing Karachi’s bowlers from the outset.

Playing his first match of the season, Hales smashed a 35-ball 88, including eight sixes and six fours.

He brought up his eighth PSL fifty off just 23 balls and hit Aamer Jamal for three sixes and a four in a 24-run over — the most expensive of the innings.

Hales shared a 153-run opening stand with Farhan, who continued his fine form with a 41-ball 73, including three sixes and nine fours.

Farhan reached his fifty off 26 balls and now leads the season’s run charts with 394 runs.

He was eventually caught at fine leg off Mir Hamza, attempting a scoop.

Shadab added the finishing touches with a quickfire 42 off 19 balls, striking three sixes and three fours.

United raced to 76 without loss in the powerplay, 130 in 10 overs, and 180-3 by the 15th. They added 71 runs in the last five overs.

Khushdil Shah was the most expensive bowler, conceding 58 in four overs. He was hit for multiple boundaries by both Hales and Farhan.

Mir Hamza (1-41), Aamer Jamal (1-54), Abbas Afridi (0-51), and Hasan Ali (0-46) all came under heavy fire.