Quetta Gladiators beat Karachi Kings in thriller

Quetta Gladiators Thursday beat Karachi Kings by 5 wickets in a thriller during the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season nine at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi.

West Indies' hard-hitter Sherfane Rutherford played a blinder of a knock to beat Kings on the last ball in the 16th game of the PSL. Quetta were 89 for five when the Windies' duo of Rutherford and Akeal Hosein took charge of the chase and completed it.

The pair added 80 runs for the fourth wicket with Rutherford scoring 31-ball 58 which included six maximums and a four while Akeal supported with a valuable 22 of 17 balls.

This is Quetta Gladiators' fourth win of the competition while Karachi Kings now have three losses in five games. The chase was set up brilliantly by Jason Roy and Saud Shakeel, putting up 57 for the first wicket but Rilee Rossouw's side collapsed dramatically in the middle by losing back-to-back wickets.

Saud (24) was the first man to dismiss by Hasan Ali followed by Zahid Mehmood getting the better of Khawaja Nafay (2). Wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed (3) had to depart courtesy of a brilliant catch by Tim Seifert behind the wickets.

Roy (52) and Rossouw (6) walked back to the pavilion on consecutive balls, allowing Karachi to make a comeback. But, the 25-year-old Rutherford had different ideas as he charged the Karachi bowlers to lead Quetta to victory on the last ball as he smashed 15 off the final over bowled by Anwar Ali.

Put into bat first, the Kings had a bad start as they lost their captain Shan Masood (0) in the initial over, courtesy of Akeal Hosein's bowling.

But, their vice-captain James Vince formed a robust partnership with Tim Seifert, initiating a counterattack. The pair briskly added 59 runs and guided the Kings to 61/1 at the conclusion of the batting powerplay.

However, Usman Tariq altered the course of the game in his first over by dismissing both well-set batters. Seifert contributed 21 runs off 11 deliveries, featuring two boundaries and a six, while Vince top-scored for the Kings with a 25-ball 37, including eight boundaries.

Following the consecutive dismissals, Mohammad Nawaz joined the seasoned Shoaib Malik in the middle, forming a crucial partnership. The duo added 39 runs for the fourth wicket until Abrar Ahmed removed Malik in the 13th over, with a score of 12 off 20 deliveries.

In the next over, Mohammad Nawaz, who dominated the fourth-wicket partnership with a brisk 28, fell. His 19-ball knock comprised four boundaries. Nawaz's dismissal triggered a collapse in the lower middle order as the Kings lost three more wickets — Kieron Pollard (13), Hasan Ali (2), and Muhammad Irfan Khan (15) — in quick succession, sliding to 138/8 in 17.2 overs.

However, veteran all-rounder Anwar Ali provided late fireworks with an unbeaten cameo, boosting Karachi Kings' total to 165/8 in the allotted overs. He smashed one four and two sixes during his 14-ball 25.

Abrar Ahmed spearheaded the bowling attack for Quetta Gladiators with figures of 3/31, followed by Akeal Hosein and Usman Tariq, who secured two wickets each. Pacer Sohail Khan, on the other hand, claimed one scalp.