Islamabad United 204 for 4 (Azam 72*, Faheem 41, Amir 1-40, Shamsi 1-40) beat Karachi Kings 201 for 5 (Imad 92*, Irfan 30, Curran 2-43) by six wickets
A remarkable counter-attacking knock from Azam Khan ambushed Karachi Kings, snatching a win away from them in a game they had been dominating from the start. Islamabad United's middle order batter smashed an unbeaten 72 off 41, putting up a 125-run stand with Faheem Ashraf and helping seal a six-wicket win. The loss put Kings on the brink of elimination.
United had never chased a target in excess of 200 before, so when Kings put up 201, thanks in large part to another outstanding knock from their captain Imad Wasim, their batters were up against it. They started brightly, as United always do, but Mohammad Amir struck early to remove Colin Munro, and despite a cameo from Alex Hales, Aamer Yamin cleaned him up with the last ball of the powerplay. Rassie van der Dussen saw one stay low against him from Tabraiz Shamsi, and all of a sudden, United were three down at the halfway stage, and the asking rate had crept above 12.
But Azam had decimated Quetta Gladiators a week earlier, and while he was at the crease, United were in it. He slapped Imad Wasim for a four and a six in the 11th over - there had been no boundaries scored in the previous four. It got United up and running again. A pair of sixes off Shamsi in the next saw the asking rate creep under 12.
Faheem provided support, if not too many runs, from the other end, but Karachi were growing desperate for a breakthrough. That showed, in particular, in the face of Amir, who appealed incessantly for far-fetched lbw calls, and burned both Karachi reviews with reckless abandon. The muddled thinking was obvious when, having run out of reviews, Amir frantically signalled for another one on yet another unrealistic shout, only to be reminded that wasn't an option.
But there was nothing clouding Azam's judgment now. He came and went past 50 with a huge six off Yamin, and boundaries came in every over from the 11th to the last. When Faheem finally did join the party with a six in the penultimate over, United looked to have secured the points, before a six and a four from Asif Ali made it official.
That meant this was yet another game that saw Imad amass runs in a match-losing cause. United had put Karachi on the back foot after an enterprising powerplay where Adam Rossington and Tayyab Tahir combined for 61 in the first six. Rumman Raees, Tom Curran and Hasan Ali each picked up a wicket early on, and Faheem joined in soon after to leave the lower middle order needing to salvage a tricky situation once more.
It was Imad who answered the call of his team once more, a heroic one-man stand for a team that has come to rely on them. He helped Kings plunder 82 from the final six almost single-handedly, deploying an outstanding array of shots he never quite seemed to possess before this league, and certainly never strung together in such short order. The reverse sweeps off pace, the hooks and aerial drives were all incredibly productive, and the bowlers watched as Imad lay waste to what United thought was an encouraging first ten.
There was even unselfishness towards the end as he refused to farm the strike in pursuit of a hundred, content to finish with an unbeaten 92. But, in what has become a familiar refrain this season, Imad might not have deserved to lose, but not enough of his team-mates deserved to win.
