Image source: Anzan7, Anzan7, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pakistan Super League Edition 8 is really interesting. It has been amazing hype around the event. Spectacular and astonishing international cricketers from around the world are participating in the engaging battle between bat and ball. If we talk about the best franchise T20 sides in the world, Islamabad United is a team who could qualify for the awards. The team comes with a great strategy on the ground in the Pakistan Super League matches. Furthermore, it is the most successful side in the Pakistan Super League after winning two titles. Islamabad United has managed to dominate Karachi Kings once again in the Pakistan Super League contests. Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United PSL contests provide great hype due to the funny social media trolls exchanged between both sides. However, the Kings failed to give any big fight to United in PSL 08.
Islamabad United has managed to defeat Karachi Kings in both PSL 08 contests. The first Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United PSL contest was scheduled to be played in National Stadium Karachi. The stadium is home to the side of Kings who receive support from the home crowd. However, Islamabad United played amazingly well vs Karachi Kings in the PSL 08 game.
Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United PSL 08: 1st Leg
Karachi Kings was batting first in the game vs Islamabad United. The openers that Karachi Kings chose against the bowling side of Islamabad United were James Vince and Sharjeel Khan. Both batsmen are capable of putting up a spectacular show on the crease. These players like to dominate the opposition with their astonishing batting skillset on the ground. However, Rumman Raees proved his mettle once again in T20 cricket. While James Vince was making the strategy to dominate Islamabad United in the group-stage game, Vince returned to the pavilion early. Now the platinum pick of Karachi Kings Haider Ali arrived on the crease vs Islamabad United in the PSL game.
Now Haider and Sharjeel built a really great partnership. The only problem in the partnership was the slow display of cricket. However, keeping in perspective the number of options that Karachi Kings has in the middle overs, the batting was acceptable. Haider hit 7 fours and 2 sixes against the bowling of Islamabad United. He returned to the pavilion on the score of 59 runs. On the other hand, Sharjeel Khan played a sluggish inning of 34 runs off 26 balls for Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United in PSL.
The Fall of Wickets
As Karachi Kings failed to make an impact from the top order vs Islamabad United in PSL-08, the quick fall of wickets happened. The players like Matthew Wade provide great value on the crease with his great hard-hitting skills. However, Wade failed to provide any significant contribution vs Islamabad United in PSL 08.
With the successive wickets of Imad Wasim and Matthew Wade for Karachi Kings batting vs Islamabad United bowling in PSL, United was back in the game big time! The youngster Irfan Khan Niazi came on the crease. He hit two sixes to guide Karachi Kings towards a respectable total. With the foreign player James Fuller striking two boundaries at the end, Karachi Kings posted 173 runs on the board vs Islamabad United. Considering the strong batting side of Islamabad United, totals in the range of 17o are difficult to defend.
Islamabad United Batting vs Karachi Kings Bowling PSL 08
In the powerplay overs, Karachi Kings has the services of the frontline pacer Mohammad Amir. He likes to swing the ball both ways to trouble the opposition. With the great performance during Bangladesh Premier League, Karachi Kings expected big things from Amir in the contest vs Islamabad United for PSL 08. For Islamabad United, the openers Paul Stirling and Hassan Nawaz came to open the innings. They tried to provide a blistering start. However, both batsmen returned to the pavilion with a score of 21 runs only.
Islamabad United was on the struggling side. This time United needed big innings from their batsmen. Karachi Kings was finding momentum vs Islamabad United in the PSL 08 game. Islamabad United needed support from the foreign cricketers to do the job in the middle overs. Both Rassie Van der Dussen and Colin Munro are cricketers who demonstrate amazing skill sets in T20 cricket. Munro and Dussen built a spectacular partnership on the crease. While Munro was smashing the ball all around the park, Dussen was providing the stability on the crease for Islamabad United in the PSL 08 game vs Multan Sultans.
The Show of Azam Khan
Azam Khan is rising through the ranks to become one of the fine cricketers in the Pakistan set of domestic T20 cricketers. The way Azam is performing, he might make it to the side of Pakistan in the games vs Afghanistan. Azam is a cricketer who likes to play astonishingly on the crease while smashing the ball all around the park. While the bowler of Karachi Kings managed to take the wicket of Rassie Van der Dussen, the momentum did not stop due to the wonderful batting display of Azam Khan. Colin Munro scored the fifty and Azam Khan played a vital knock of 44 runs for Islamabad United vs Karachi Kings in PSL 08. Islamabad United defeated Karachi Kings by four wickets. It was a wonderful victory for Islamabad United following the knock of Azam Khan and Colin Munro in the game.
Islamabad United defeated Karachi Kings by four wickets in the Pakistan Super League contest. It was a wonderful victory for Islamabad United which demonstrated their dominance on the ground vs Karachi Kings. What a great victory it was for Islamabad United. With the victory of United, the momentum was all set for Islamabad for the rest of the Pakistan Super League. For Karachi Kings, they needed to make a comeback in the rest of the games to try their best in qualifying for the playoffs. Karachi Kings needed to rectify the evident issues in their batting side. The vulnerability in the batting department surely needed to be resolved in the games of the Pakistan Super League.
Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United PSL 08: 2nd Leg
This was the time for Karachi Kings to finally take revenge vs Islamabad United in the PSL contest. Karachi Kings was failing hard to find the groove in the Pakistan Super League. A clear dominance from Islamabad United against Karachi Kings was evident on the ground. Karachi Kings just wanted to forget the earlier outings and create an impact vs the most successful side in the history of the Pakistan Super League. Again Karachi Kings was batting first vs Islamabad United in the league contest of PSL. For the side of Islamabad, you need to post huge totals on the board to challenge this side. With the kind of options that United have in the batting department, it is a difficult task to contain them.
In the absence of James Vince, left-handed batsman Adam Rossington joined the side. Sharjeel Khan did not perform according to the expectations. Tayyab Tahir showed some potential in the powerplay overs after scoring significant runs, however, he lost his wicket early in the game. Despite Adam Rossington hitting the ball in the gaps, his stay was not long enough on the crease. Karachi Kings lost three wickets on the score of 53 runs vs Islamabad United in the second leg of the PSL 08 tournament.
The Importance of Shoaib Malik for Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United
If we talk about the most composed and successful players in T20 history, the name of Shoaib Malik could really outshine them. He has phenomenal statistics in the T20 format. With the inclusion of Shoaib Malik on the side of Karachi Kings for PSL, a tremendous amount of expectations revolved around him. Malik needed to stay long at the wicket as he is a player who could help his team in posting a great total on the board. There is a clear weakness in the batting gameplay of Shoaib Malik. The senior cricketer is vulnerable while batting against fast bowlers. Faheem Ashraf is not an easy customer in the Pakistan Super League. Due to the masterclass bowling display of Faheem Ashraf, Shoaib Malik returned to the pavilion without making any significant impact.
With Karachi Kings losing four wickets without reaching the score of 100 runs, there were worries in the dugout. Again, Imam Wasim was carrying the huge responsibility of playing a vital knock to guide his team towards scoring a considerable total. Imad Wasim totally lived up to the expectations. There is a reason why he is considered one of the great all-rounders in the Pakistan domestic circuit. He does not only allow easy runs on the board for the batsmen. But he scores vital runs in the T20 game and tries to lead his side from the front. Despite a spectacular amount of criticism revolving around Imad Wasim ahead of the PSL, he performed amazingly well in the league.
The Phase of Recovery
The emerging star Irfan Khan Niazi demonstrated his potential on the crease. He tried to give his full support to captain Imad Wasim. On the other hand, Wasim smashed the ball all around the park. Karachi Kings was surely getting back to the game. Islamabad United bowlers were losing the plot. They needed to take the significant wicket of Imad Wasim. The left-handed batsman was scoring the runs comfortably with a wonderful strike rate.
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This was a phenomenal knock by Imad Wasim against the bowlers of Islamabad United. At one point, it seemed as if Karachi Kings might not be able to score a total of 150 runs. However, at the end of the innings, Karachi Kings posted a total of 201 runs on the board. What a phenomenal performance it was. There is no doubt that the score of 200 runs on the board creates scoreboard pressure for the opposition. Karachi Kings posted a total of 201 runs vs Islamabad United in the second leg of PSL 08.
Islamabad United vs Karachi Kings 2nd Leg: The Batting Start in Chase
Colin Munro and Alex Hales were walking out to the crease. These players are really dangerous batsmen in cricket. The way they smash the deliveries all around the park demonstrates their command in the game of cricket. However, Mohammad Amir was able to take the wicket of Colin Munro early in the game. It was a huge wicket keeping in perspective the context of the game. Alex Hales provided a blistering start in the powerplay overs. For Hales, an early wicket falling does not really matter. He kept attacking the bowlers of Karachi Kings. Due to the contribution of Alex Hales vs the bowlers of Karachi Kings, Islamabad United enjoyed great powerplay overs vs Kings in the PSL 08 contest.
Karachi Kings needed the wicket of Alex Hales immediately in the contest. Aamer Yamin provided the important breakthrough for Karachi Kings in the PSL game vs Islamabad United. This wicket for really significant for Karachi Kings. Rassie Van der Dussen is one of the fine players in modern-era cricket. Karachi Kings managed to take his wicket. With three wickets, Karachi Kings was back in the game vs Islamabad United in the PSL 08 contest. Islamabad United promoted Faheem Ashraf up the order. Faheem has been providing a significant contribution to Islamabad United with his spectacular all-round performance. On the other end, Azam Khan was batting on the crease who is one of the great hitters of the ball.
Azam Khan and Faheem Ashraf: The Partnership
Islamabad United started building an important partnership in the presence of Faheem Ashraf and Azam Khan. These two cricketers demonstrated amazing displays on the field with their amazing innings-building skills. While Karachi Kings needed quick wickets to keep their command in the game, Azam and Faheem did not allow the bowlers of Karachi Kings to take their wickets. The best thing about Azam Khan is that he plays the spinners amazingly well. Karachi Kings had the option of Imad Wasim, Shoaib Malik and Tabraiz Shamsi in the spin bowling department. However, the spinners failed to create an impact in the game vs Islamabad United. Faheem Ashraf and Azam Khan did not allow any chance for the bowling of Karachi Kings.
From being in the winning position vs Islamabad United, Karachi Kings was on the verge of defeat. Rawalpindi Stadium was witnessing the masterclass of Azam Khan who was smashing the ball all around the park. The kind of impact he creates with the bat is just astonishing. With such a terrific partnership, Karachi Kings was standing nowhere in the game. Faheem and Azam built a partnership of 120+ runs vs Karachi Kings to assist Islamabad United in winning this contest. It was a big victory for United vs Karachi Kings. What phenomenal batting from their batting unit. Islamabad United won the contest vs Karachi Kings by six wickets in the second leg of PSL with four balls to spare.
Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United PSL 08: Final Words
In recent years, Islamabad United has continuously dominated Karachi Kings in Pakistan Super League. Karachi Kings failed to win a contest vs Islamabad United in PSL 08. They need to come up with better planning, strategy and execution in the upcoming Pakistan Super League edition. For Islamabad United, they need to keep up the momentum. With the kind of display demonstrated on the field by Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League, they could surely win the title for the third time. Are you a keen follower of cricket? Do you love to find out updates on one of the best T20 leagues in the world? If yes, then you could go to the best online cricket news sites in the United Kingdom to find out the numbers.
