In Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021, there were two matches on Thursday, the first match was between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi, the second was played between the Karachi Kings and Lahore Khalanders. It rained heavily in the first match and Islamabad United won the match by 15 runs. In the second match, the Kings defeated the Lahore Khalanders. After these two matches, Islamabad United topped the points table with 14 points, while Peshawar is second with 10 points despite Jalmi’s defeat.
Lahore Khalanders also have equal points with Peshawar Jalmi, but the team is in third place as they are trailing by a net run rate. Despite the win, the Multan Sultans are in fourth place while the Karachi Kings are in fifth place. The Quetta Gladiators point is at the bottom of the table. Batting first, Islamabad skipper Usman Khawaja scored an unbeaten 105 off 56 balls and scored 247 runs for the loss of two wickets.
Peshawar had reached the target but managed to score only 232 for six. Shoaib Malik 68 and Kamran Akmal scored 53 runs. Prior to that, Islamabad had set a record high-scoring record of 238 for three in 2019 against the Lahore Qalandars. On the other hand, the Karachi Kings kept their hopes of entering the playoffs by defeating Lahore Khalanders by seven runs. Batting first, the Karachi Kings scored 176 for five, while Babar Azam 54 and Martin Guptill scored 43 off 31 balls. Lahore Khalanders missed seven runs. For the Kings of Karachi, 16-year-old Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmed took two wickets for 19 runs in four overs.
