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Islamabad United defeated Karachi Kings by two runs in the sixth match of the inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Sunday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Wickets continued to fall for the Karachi side but a 28-run stand between Ravi Bopara and Usama Mir meant they were still in with a shout going into the last over.
Needing 16 to win, Mir was run-out off a wide in the first ball and the incoming Mohammad Amir hit a four off the first ball to make it 11 off 5 balls. But the experienced Watson bowled two superb dot balls to mean that by the time Bopara took strike, Karachi needed 10 off two balls.
A straight six over Watson left Karachi needing four off the last ball but the Australian all-rounder held his nerve and fired in a perfect yorker in the blockhole, which the England man could only edge for a single to leave the pre-tournament favourites two runs short.
Saeed Ajmal received the man of the match award for his spell which resulted in three wickets. Sami, Russell and Raees got one wicket apiece.
Post-match presentation
Man of the match award goes to Saeed Ajmal for his three wickets.
Saeed Ajmal: "I have been working hard for the past year, trying to bring variety in into my bowling. I am hoping to perform well in PSL in order to get selected for the national squad in upcoming World T20."
Shoaib Malik: "I am disappointed that we were unable to chase a relatively small target but I am hopeful for a better performance in our next match."
Shane Watson: "It feels good to get off the mark in the tournament and we hope to continue performing in a similar manner in our subsequent matches."
KHI 130-9 (20 overs)
Ropara takes a single from the last delivery as Islamabad beat Karachi by 2 runs. This is the first win for Islamabad United as they make a thrilling comeback to the tournament.
SIX! Ravi Bopara smashes towards long off.
FOUR! Amir slices it towards the boundary.
RUN OUT! The keeper throws it towards the stumps. Usama departs.
Shane Watson to bowl the last over.
KHI 117-8 (19 overs)
FOUR! Ravi Bopara hits it towards midwicket.
FOUR! Usama Mir clears it over the bowlers head.
Andre Russell to bowl the penultimate over.
KHI 104-8 (18 overs)
SIX! Bopara smashes on a no-ball. Plus its a free hit.
Mohammad Sami.
KHI 93-8 (17 overs)
RUN OUT! Direct hit by Raees. Sohail Tanvir walks off the pitch. Usama Mir replaces Tanvir.
Raees.
KHI 90-7 (16 overs)
Only three from the over.
Shane Watson.
KHI 87-7 (15 overs)
OUT! Bangash departs after a simple catch at cover. Sohail Tanvir replaces him.
OUT! Imran Khalid takes the catch of Shakibal Hasan at midwicket. Bangash to replace Shakib.
FOUR! Bopara reverse sweeps towards the boundary.
Saeed Ajmal.
KHI 79-5 (14 overs)
FOUR! Shakibal Hasan places the ball towards off-side boundary.
Sami.
KHI 72-5 (13 overs)
OUT! Sharjeel takes a simple catch at midwicket. Iftikhar departs. Ravi Bopara replaces Iftikhar.
FOUR! Iftikhar edges it to fine leg boundary.
Dropped! Shane Watson could have caught it.
Raees.
KHI 64-4 (12 overs)
Seven off the over.
Andre Russell.
KHI 57-4 (11 overs)
Five runs from the over.
Saeed Ajmal.
KHI 52-4 (10 overs)
Four from the over.
Shane Watson.
KHI 48-4 (9 overs)
Three from the over.
Raees.
KHI 44-4 (8 overs)
BOWLED! Inside edge by Shoaib Malik . The ball dislodges the bails. Iftikhar Ahmed replaces the skipper.
Mohammad Sami.
KHI 37-3 (7 overs)
OUT! Imad Wasim caught by the wicketkeeper. Shakibal Hasan replaces Wasim.
Russell.
KHI 35-2 (6 overs)
FOURx2! Imad smashes consecutive boundaries.
Shane Watson.
KHI 24-2 (5 overs)
FOUR! Imad places the ball towards extra cover.
Rumman Raees.
KHI 17-2 (4 overs)
FOUR! A beautiful cut shot played late by Imad.
FOUR! This time through the covers. Imad Wasim shows his class.
FOUR! Imad Wasim with a fantastic straight drive.
LBW! Vince falls prey to Ajmal's deceptive delivery. Shoaib Malik replaces Vince.
Saeed Ajmal.
KHI 3-1 (3 overs)
Just a single from the over.
Mohammad Sami to join the bowling attack as well.
KHI 2-1 (2 overs)
RUN OUT! Simmons goes as wicketkeeper dislodges the stumps. Imad Wasim replaces Simmons.
Imran Khalid to join the bowling attack for Islamabad.
KHI 2-0 (1 over)
James Vince and Lendl Simmons to open for Karachi.
Andre Russell to start off proceedings.
ISL 132-8 (20 overs)
SIX! Sami smashes it out of the ground.
RUN OUT! Khalid falls prey to Amir's direct hit.
FOUR! Sami smashes the ball towards long off.
Mohammad Amir to bowl the last over of the innings.
ISL 118-7 (19 overs)
FOUR! Inside edge. It goes for boundary towards fine leg.
Sohail Tanvir to bowl the penultimate over.
ISL 111-7 (18 overs)
OUT! Misbah tries to go for the big one. Doesn't time it well. Shakibal Hasan takes a simple catch at long on. Mohammad Sami is the skipper's replacement.
SIX! Imran Khalid smashes the ball to midwicket.
Bopara.
ISL 101-6 (17 overs)
Four runs from the over.
Sohail Tanvir.
ISL 97-6 (16 overs)
Islamabad has lost 4 wickets for 11 runs in the past three overs.
RUN OUT! Billings departs. Its raining wickets here. Imran Khalid walks in to replace Billings.
FOUR! Billings places it to third man boundary.
BOWLED! Khalid Latif misses it completely. Billings replaces Latif.
Bopara.
ISL 91-4 (15 overs)
CAUGHT! Andre Russell departs and Mir takes a beautiful catch at the bowler's end. Misbahul Haq replaces Russell.
Usama Mir.
ISL 89-3 (14 overs)
RUN OUT! Ashar Zaidi wandered off and Bopara made no mistake in hitting the stumps. Andre Russell replaces Zaidi.
Ravi Bopara.
ISL 86-2 (13 overs)
Seven from the over.
Usama Mir.
ISL 79-2 (12 overs)
OUT! Sharjeel Khan caught by the fielder at midwicket. Ashar Zaidi replaces Sharjeel.
Sania Mirza among the spectators.
Mohammad Amir to resume the bowling attack.
ISL 71-1 (10 overs)
ISL 76-1 (11 overs)
Five from the over.
Usama Mir.
ISL 71-1 (10 overs)
Five runs from the over.
Shoaib Malik.
ISL 66-1 (9 overs)
SIX! Khalid Latif smashes the ball out of the ground. 88 metres.
Shakibal Hasan.
ISL 56-1 (8 overs)
Six from the over.
Ravi Bopara to try his medium-fast.
ISL 50-1 (7 overs)
Just a single from the over.
Shakibal Hasan.
ISL 49-1 (6 overs)
FOUR! Sharjeel smashes the ball towards off-side.
Shoaib Malik to join the bowling attack for Karachi.
ISL 42-1 (5 overs)
SIX! Khalid Latif clears the rope at long off.
FOUR! Khalid Latif places one towards boundary.
OUT! LBW! Shane Watson is beaten by Imad. Khalid Latif is the new batsman in.
Imad Wasim.
ISL 31-0 (4 overs)
FOUR! Another one from Sharjeel. This time he places a beautiful shot in cover region.
FOUR! Short delivery pulled by Sharjeel Khan for a boundary at midwicket.
Sharjeel Khan pushes one towards cover for three runs.
Sohail Tanvir.
ISL 18-0 (3 overs)
SIX! Watson clears the midwicket boundary.
Mohammad Amir.
ISL 6-0 (2 overs)
Four runs from the over. Another tight one by the bowlers.
Sohail Tanvir to join Mohammad Amir in the attack.
ISL 2-0 (1 over)
Two runs from the first over of the match. Good bowling by Amir.
Shane Watson and Sharjeel Khan to open for Islamabad.
Mohammad Amir to begin bowling attack for Karachi.
Toss: Karachi Kings won the toss and elected to bowl first.
MisbahUl Haq: "We need to improve our form in order to do well in the tournament. Hopefully we will make a successful comeback today."
Shoaib Malik: "No doubt we will be bowling first. Any team would bowl first on this pitch."
Kings Arrived at Dubai Intl Cricket Stadium#KarachiDharayGa pic.twitter.com/BuTZsVgClF
— Karachi Kings (@KarachiKingsARY) February 7, 2016
#ISLUvsKK today at 4 pm (PKT). Are you ready ISLAMABAD? #Unitedwewin #Roaringforvictory #HBLPSL #AbKhelKeDikha pic.twitter.com/4XiL1T3YMN
— Islamabad United (@IsbUnited) February 7, 2016
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