PSL 2026: Karachi Kings thrash Lahore Qalandars by 4 wickets in low-scoring thriller

Karachi Kings continued their victory run in the Pakistan Super League 2026 (PSL 2026), beating Lahore Qalandars by four wickets in Match 6 on Sunday, March 29, at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. After opting to bat first, Lahore staggered their way to 128/9 in their allotted 20 overs.

Useful contributions from Abdullah Shafique (33 off 24) and Haseebullah Khan (28 off 30) helped their team post a fighting score. In reply, Karachi held their nerve until the last over and completed the chase with three balls to spare as Abbas Afridi took down Haris Rauf.

Earlier in the day, Lahore lost in-form opener Fakhar Zaman (1 off 3) in the very first over, while his opening partner Mohammad Naeem (13 off 12) also failed to make an impact. After two early wickets, Abdullah Shafique tried to stabilise the innings as he held one end, but failed to get any support as Karachi’s bowlers ran through Lahore's batting.

Adam Zampa (2/11), Mir Hamza (2/14, 3 overs) and Moeen Ali (2/31) scalped two wickets each as Lahore suffered a massive collapse in the last five overs. In reply, Karachi were rocked early with Lahore captain Shaheen Afridi being at his menacing best with the new ball. He removed David Warner (8 off 9) and Salman Agha (0 off 2) cheaply, while Mustafizur Rahman got rid of Saad Baig (19 off 21) to leave Karachi reeling at 39/3 in 7.3 overs.

Muhammad Waseem held the innings together, while contributions from Moeen Ali (18 off 21), Azam Khan (14* off 12) and Khushdil Shah (13 off 14) brought Karachi on the verge of a win. With nine needed off the last five balls, Abbas Afridi (10* off 2) whacked Haris Rauf for a four, followed by a six to finish the chase in style.

Best Batter of the Match

Best Bowler of the Match

Player of the Match

Adam Zampa was deservedly adjudged Player of the Match for his game-changing bowling performance. He first dismissed the well-set Abdullah  Shafique (33 off 24) to expose Lahore’s batting and later got rid of Usama Mir to further stem the run flow in the death overs.

Turning Point

Sikandar Raza’s dismissal against Abbas Afridi in the 15^th over of Lahore’s innings turned out to be the game-changing moment of the match. He had added 43 runs off 37 balls with Haseebullah Khan (28 off 30) for the fifth wicket and was taking his team to a strong finish. However, after his dismissal, Lahore lost four wickets in the last five overs, scoring just 23 runs in last 33 balls.

What did the captains say:

Winning captain, David Warner (Karachi Kings):

Yeah, look, it does. We did it the hard way. As you just said, Shaheen bowled absolutely outstanding. A great spell. Four wickets, but look, it was a bit tighter than I would like. But look, it's good to have two from two. Yeah, it is. And I think, you know, when you're out there as a batsman, you feel like if you can try and take it deep, it might come into your advantage. But then towards the back end there, you know, we need 15 off the last over. It can be a little bit hairy. It's just good to get the job done tonight. It's a great game for the tournament, actually, you know, Lahore-Karachi on Sunday night. I mean, so we loved it, absolutely. Yeah, it did, and I think it was the last game as well. Our spinners bowled fantastic in tandem. I thought Hamza and Hasan were fantastic as well. So, I think us squeezing in the middle and bowling in partnerships is really helping us at the moment. I think the spinners are licking their lips. But as batsmen, you can take a few balls to adjust and adapt. But look, it's it is what it is. It's unfortunate, but it's the nature of the beast that we're playing at two venues. And um, I'd like to think it's credit to the curators to be able to do that, and us here to play the piece. Yeah look, it seems to be the trend, but hopefully we can beat them in finals time. No, it's a bit of bittersweet today, but there's a long way to go in this tournament.

Losing captain, Shaheen Afridi (Lahore Qalandars):

Yeah, it was actually a good game. We all tried. We said before and we're telling every day we will fight till the last ball and the team did it. Yeah, I mean, batting was the problem really. 128 obviously not enough runs on the board yet. I mean, the bowlers did their best. No, actually, both batting sides were same, they also struggled, even if it's 128 and you're chasing, you can chase in 15 overs, but it's the same. I'll say our batting was tight and they did it. (Talks about ball tampering) I don't know about this and we'll see if it's there in the camera and discuss what it is. Actually, five runs taken and we can't do anything. Like, you can't say. Not for me, my team is fighting till the last ball, which I need for every game.