Karachi Kings began their Pakistan Super League campaign in style, beating Quetta Gladiators by seven wickets in a one-sided opening match played at National Stadium Karachi yesterday.
The Kings, who earlier restricted Gladiators to 121, emerged victorious with a score of 126-3 with 37 balls remaining.
Babar Azam (24 off 20) and Joe Clarke (46 off 23) put up a strong partnership, helping Kings to easily beat Quetta by seven wickets with 37 balls to spare.
All-rounder Momamed Nabi played a nice little cameo in the end for Kings, scoring quick 30 runs off 14 balls and smashing three sixes and two fours.
Arshad Iqbal was declared Man of the Match for his brilliant bowling spell picking up three wickets by giving away only 16 runs in 4 overs.
It was the biggest win for Kings in terms of balls to spare in Pakistan Super League (PSL) history.
Earlier, Karachi Kings had won the toss and decided to bowl first. Batting first, Quetta set a 122-run target for Karachi Kings.
Chris Gayle was the highest run-scorer from Gladiators as the hard-hitting batsman smashed 39 runs off 24 balls hitting two sixes and 4 fours.
Arshad Iqbal was the pick of the bowlers for Karachi with three wickets while conceding only 16 runs in his four-over.
Karachi Kings will face Islamabad United in their next match scheduled on February 24.
Earlier, the sixth edition of the tournament kicked off with a glitzy opening ceremony here at National Stadium Karachi.
Comprehensive security arrangements have been made for conducting the event. Only 7,500 fans were able to witness the matches at NSK due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In total, 34 matches will be played during the month-long tournament that will conclude on 22nd March with the final to be played in Gaddafi Stadium Lahore.