Karachi Kings 199 for 1 (Warner 89*, Hendricks 87*, Jahandad 1-38) beat Quetta Gladiators 195 for 6 (Rossouw 90, Shakeel 57, Afridi 2-22) by 4 wickets
Karachi Kings kept themselves alive at the PSL chasing down a high score in a second successive game. This time, an unbeaten 141-run partnership between David Warner and Reeza Hendricks made light work gunning down 196 against Quetta Gladiators.
Warner was unbeaten on 89 while Reeza scored 87 not out, and in so doing they eliminated last year's finalists, who finish with three wins in their allocated ten games.
This was a must-win game for both sides, and the Kings began playing like it. After inserting the Gladiators in, both openers Shamyl Hussain and Khawaja Nafay were sent packing by Hasan Ali for ducks in the first over.
But the Gladiators hit back right away with a sensational counter-attacking partnership between Rilee Rossouw and Saud Shakeel. Shakeel set the stage by targeting Rizwanullah before plundering 16 off Hasan's follow-up. Another 20 came off Moeen Ali's first to finish the powerplay, and the Gladiators suddenly found themselves with a creditable 58 in six overs.
But the onslaught continued as the field spread out. Rossouw did the bulk of the belligerence, bringing up his half-century off 33 balls before taking down Salman Agha with three boundaries in the 12th over. Another couple of sixes off Moeen saw him bear down on three figures as the partnership began to touch 150.
Rizwanullah finally got rid of Shakeel, but not before he scored a 34-ball 57. However, when Rossouw followed the next over, ten runs shy of a hundred, the Gladiators lost some momentum. A cameo from Dinesh Chandimal powered them to 196, but with the platform the Gladiators had, they'd have hope for 220.
The Kings' start was somewhat sedate, but Warner began to pick things up at the backend of the powerplay. The last three overs saw them score 41 runs, thanks in large part to the the captain, who ensured they kept on top of the required run rate. He was helped by a blistering knock from Hendricks, who had - until this innings - struggled with his strike rate in the PSL. But as he battled to keep his side alive, he produced his magnum opus.
The pair's neutralisation of the Gladiators' spin threat was instrumental to the chase. Warner hit a six and two boundaries off Usman Tariq's first over to set things up, and though Hendricks was playing a supporting role early on, he upped the ante with a savage attack on Alzarri Joseph. Three sixes and a boundary off Joseph in a 17th over that produced 24 took the jeopardy out of the contest, and left the Kings needing 10 to win in the final three. A lovely pick-up drive over mid-off - one of Hendricks' signature shots today - achieved that with aplomb.
