Right-handed batsman Azam Khan led his team to a five-wicket win over Karachi Kings in the sixth game of the PSL 2020 played at Karachi’s National Stadium on Sunday.

Quetta Gladiators’ Azam Khan came to the crease when his team was teetering at 55 for three with big guns out of the sight and back to the pavilion. Along with captain Sarfaraz Ahmad, Azam powered his side to win by scoring a quickfire 46 runs off 30 balls studded with two sixes and four fours. But he got run out a few runs short of the 157-run target.

Captain Sarfaraz made sure that his team chased down the target with seven balls to spare. He was unbeaten at 37 and Anwar Ali was not out at 6.

Earlier, Quetta Gladiators started their chase with a bang but their hard-hitting opening batsmen Shane Watson (27) and Jason Roy (17) were run out by some brilliant fielding by the Kings. Ahmed Shahzad soon followed them by scoring 11 runs caught by Jordan off the bowling of Imad Wasim.

Batting first, Karachi Kings after winning the toss managed to score 156 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Karachi Kings lost wickets at regular intervals, but still managed to put 156 on board, well short of what their captain hoped for.

Babar Azam was the first to get out after scoring a quick 26 runs off 23 balls after being bowled out by Tymal Mills. Sharjeel Khan soon followed Azam off the bowling of Mohammad Nawaz.

Cameron Delport who started to settle in and smash around the ground was bowled out by Sohail Khan after scoring a quick 22 runs off 12 balls.

Chris Walton was the fourth to fall, falling to run-out. He was followed by Alex Hales who left the pitch after scoring 29 runs.

For Gladiators, Muhammad Hasnain took three wickets by giving away 33 runs while TS Mills grabbed two wickets for 30 runs. Muhammad Nawaz and Sohail Khan shared one wicket each.

Earlier Karachi Kings elected to bat against Quetta Gladiators after winning the toss.

Talking to Ramiz Raja after winning the toss, Karachi Kings captain Imad Wasim said our plan is to post 170-plus on board and then we can give a tough time to the opponents.

Quetta captain Sarfaraz Ahmed said Karachi has a good XI but they would try to play top-class cricket against them. “We need to take quick wickets to win this match,” Sarfraz told Ramiz Raja.

On Friday, the Wasim-led Kings defeated Peshawar Zalmi by 10 runs in a thriller, with Zalmi coming close to chasing the 200-plus target.

On the other hand, Quetta started their PSL campaign with a three-wicket victory against Islamabad United in the opening fixture of the tournament. But, they lost their next game to Peshawar Zalmi after a blistering 50-ball 100 by Kamran Akmal took his team to a six-wicket win.