Karachi Kings end PSL 9 campaign with two-run loss to Peshawar Zalmi

Karachi Kings suffered a two-run loss in their final Pakistan Super League (PSL) season nine game to Peshawar Zalmi at the National Bank Cricket Arena.

Zalmi restricted the Kings to 145/5 after posting a 148-run target. Babar Azam's men finished with 13 points in their ten league matches while the Kings remained at fifth with eight points only. 

Tim Seifert and James Vince started the chase impressively. Seifert was the aggressor among both and took the charge.

The pair added 61 before Vince was dismissed by Naveen-ul-Haq. The Englishman made 21 off 27 balls.

In the following over, skipper Shan Masood (1) was clean bowled by Saim Ayub, who has been a revelation with the ball in PSL 9.

The wickets kept crumbling for Kings with the set-batter Seifert being dismissed courtesy of a LBW by Aamer Jamal. The New Zealander made 41 off 30 balls.

Shoaib Malik and Irfan Khan Niazi paired for the fourth wicket to stabilise the innings. Irfan attacked Zalmi bowlers with Malik playing the anchor role.

A 49-run stand ended with Naveen-ul-Haq castling Malik's stumps in the 18th over. The veteran made 22 off 25 balls.

Irfan kept finding boundaries at regular intervals while Anwar Ali joined. 17 runs were required off the last over but Jamal kept his cool and conceded 14 runs.

Irfan remained not out on 39 after playing 26 balls with the help of seven fours.

Naveen was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of 2/22.

Earlier, a collective bowling effort propelled Karachi Kings to restrict Peshawar Zalmi to 147/6.

Choosing to bat first, Peshawar Zalmi achieved a modest total on the scoreboard despite a solid start to their innings.

The in-form opening pair of Babar Azam and Saim Ayub appeared in control during the early phase of the innings, guiding Zalmi to 54 for no loss at the conclusion of the batting powerplay.

Zahid Mahmood broke the threatening partnership by dismissing Saim (19).

Meanwhile, Babar Azam briefly partnered with Mohammad Haris (13) and Haseebullah Khan (1), but both young batters had a short stay at the crease.

The skipper led Peshawar Zalmi's batting charge from the front against a disciplined bowling attack from Karachi Kings, reaching his half-century with authority by smashing Mahmood for a boundary in the 14th over.

However, he fell in the same over while attempting a quick double, thanks to an exceptional fielding effort from Mahmood.

Babar remained the top-scorer for Zalmi with 51 off 46 deliveries, including an impressive tally of five fours and a six.

As a result, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, in a desperate attempt to score big, managed only a scratchy nine off 14 deliveries, bringing Zalmi down to 113/5 in 16.5 overs.

Later, Rovman Powell's swashbuckling cameo in the final over bolstered Zalmi to a decent total. He smashed three boundaries on his way to an 18-ball 30.

For Karachi Kings, Hasan Ali, Arafat Minhas, Daniel Sams, and Zahid Mahmood each claimed one wicket.