Denly and Afridi make short work of Multan

Karachi Kings 188 for 3 (Denly 78, Azam 58, Ingram 29*, Viljoen 2-49) beat Multan Sultans 125 (Tanvir 34*, Afridi 3-18, Irfan 2-18) by 63 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

In a nutshell

Led by Joe Denly’s 55-ball 78, Karachi Kings crushed Multan Sultans with an authoritative batting performance, and condemned them to their second successive loss in as many days. Put in to bat, Karachi overcame a slow start to amass 188 – this season’s highest total – before Shahid Afridi snuffed out Multan’s pursuit with a three-wicket burst, including a maiden over.

Despite beginning the chase positively, scoring 53 for 2 in the Powerplay, Multan lost five wickets in the next seven overs, including those of Ahmed Shehzad (24) and Kieron Pollard in successive overs, for merely 34 runs. With heavyweights such as Kumar Sangakkara (18) and captain Shoaib Malik also having departed, Multan had no hope of coming back into the game.

Karachi’s innings, on the other hand, suffered no such jitters as they lost only three wickets in all. After a slow start to the Powerplay that yielded only 32 runs for the loss of Lendl Simmons, who laboured to 4 off 13 balls, Denly and Babar Azam first rebuilt and then ensured a surge. Together, they put on 118 in 13.2 overs, the highest this season, and the most any Karachi pair has made in the PSL.

Initially, it was a gusty Denly that did most of the heavy-lifting even as Azam struggled to rotate the strike. Azam eventually caught up, and while he didn’t quite manage the lusty heaves that Denly profited from, he hung around till the 19th over and finished with a 39-ball 58, including six fours and a six. The climax saw Karachi’s total swell further thanks to some fearless striking from Colin Ingram. Karachi’s bowlers enjoyed the cushion of the big total and shared the spoils as Multan were bowled out in the final over.

Full report to follow

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