Khushdil's all-round show helps Kings secure thrilling win

Khushdil Shah stood out with his all-round performance as Karachi Kings sealed a thrilling two-wicket win over Peshawar Zalmi at the National Stadium on Monday. Khushdil bagged three wickets to limit Zalmi to 147 for 8 before holding his nerve with an unbeaten 23 to help his side over the line, with three balls to spare.

Earlier, Zalmi made a slow start after being put in to bat. They lost the wickets of Saim Ayub and Tom Kohler-Cadmore cheaply. Nonetheless, Babar Azam and Mohammad Haris steadied the innings through the middle overs with a 31-run stand before Babar was trapped leg-before by Khushdil.

Haris, then in the company of Hussain Talat, took the team past the 100-run mark before a flurry of wickets – with Abbas Afridi striking thrice – broke their momentum. Even as wickets kept tumbling in the death overs, Alzarri Joseph smashed a couple of boundaries and a six, and his unbeaten 13-ball 24 helped Zalmi surge to a competitive score.

In response, Kings were pulled back early with Tim Seifert and James Vince being dismissed by the third over. However, David Warner ensured the momentum was seized back. He rotated the strike well and ensured that boundary opportunities weren't lost.

Through the middle, he found company in Saad Baig, Irfan Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Khushdil Shah to steer Kings' innings. However, once he was cleaned up by Luke Wood in the 17th over, with Kings still needing 29 runs to win, the momentum shifted in favour of the visitors.

Afridi and Aamer Jamal were snapped up in quick succession, and it was left to Khushdil to steer the team over the line with the lower order for company.

Khushdil, who had already stroked a couple of boundaries before the twin dismissals, was on strike with Kings needing nine off the last over. Instead of opting for a frontline option, Zalmi went with the medium pace of Talat to defend the total. It backfired. Khushdil crunched a boundary through backward point and then turned the strike over. Hasan Ali, facing his third delivery, took advantage of a short ball and pulled it for a boundary to help Kings clinch their third win of the season.