Dubai: Left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir, who returned to cricket just one month ago after his five-year ban in the spot fixing scandal, became the first bowler to take a hat-trick in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) with an astonishing treble. He displayed his ability to wreck any team with his sizzling deliveries to give Karachi Kings a seven-wicket victory after restricting Lahore Qalandars for 125 for 8 through his 3 for 27 spell in the second match of the PSL at the Dubai International Stadium.
Karachi batsmen Lendl Simmons, hitting an unbeaten 62 off 42 balls with eight boundaries and two sixes, and Shakib Al Hasan, cracking 51 runs off 35 balls with three sixes and three boundaries, thrashed the Lahore attack to put on 109 runs in 11.4 overs runs for the third wicket and win the match with 25 balls to spare.
Karachi won the toss and elected to field. Lahore opening batsman Chris Gayle, the star batsman who the fans had come to see hitting sixes, lasted only four balls. Karachi skipper and off-spinner Shoaib Malek, bowling the first over, had Gayle lofting into the hands of James Vince at long-on for six.
Bangladesh’s left-arm spinner Shakib, who was introduced in the fifth over, bowled Azhar Ali through the gate with the last ball of his first over for 18.
Sohaib Maqsood joined Cameron Delport. Hitting Imad Wasim over long-on, it looked like Maqsood had settled down quickly, when his partner Delport got run-out for 17 through a brilliant bit of fielding by Iftikhar Ahmad at short cover and an accurate throw to his skipper at the bowler’s end. At the half-way mark, Lahore were 57 for 3.
England’s Ravi Bopara bowled a tight 12th over to Mohammad Rizwan and Maqsood. After adding 24 runs for the fourth wicket with Rizwan, Maqsood scooped an easy catch to Bopara at backward point for 22.
All eyes turned toward Dwayne Bravo to lift Lahore to a big total. Rizwan lifted Wasim for a six over long-on. In the 19th over, Amir clean bowled Bravo for 14, made Zohail Khan scoop to wicket-keeper Saifullah Bangash and trapped Kevon Cooper leg before with successive balls for his hat-trick and restrict Lahore to 125 for 8.
Chasing the moderate total, Karachi got off to a bad start with their opener falling for a duck to the fourth ball from Zia-ul-Haq. In the next over James Vice fell trapped leg before to Zafar Gohar for 3. And they would have lost their third wicket of Shakib on 2 in the third over to Haq had Bravo not dropped an easy catch at mid-off.
In the fourth over, Simmons hit Gohar for two successive boundaries off the first two balls while Shakib hit two successive sixes off the last two balls to regain control. The pair played some superb shots to accelerate the run rate. In the eighth over, Simmons effortlessly lifted Bravo for a six over long-off and also cracked him through mid-on for another boundary. In two overs, Bravo gave away 27 runs. At the half-way mark, Karachi needed just 44 runs. Shakib, after his knock of 51 runs, fell when Lahore needed just 13 runs - hitting high to Cooper at long-on off Delport. Skipper Malek hit Delport for a six over long-on to cross the target.
Brief scores:
Karachi Kings bt Lahore Qalandars by 7 wickets. Lahore Qalandars 125 for 8 in 20 overs (Sohaib Maqsood 22, Mohammad Rizwan 37, Mohammad Amir 3 for 27) Karachi Kings 131 for 3 in 15.5 overs (Lendl Simmons 62n.o, Shakib Al Hasan 51).
