PSL 2016: Asif Ali steers 'wounded' Islamabad to beat Karachi by five wickets

Man of the match award went to Imran Khalid for his two wickets in four overs

Islamabad United defeated Karachi Kings by five wickets in the sixteenth match of the inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL) at Sharjah.

Shoaib Malik's side put up a target of 129 for Islamabad to chase after the end of first innings.

Bopara scored 45 from 50 deliveries for Karachi, with Mushfiqur and Shahzaib Hasan scoring 33 and 27 respectively.

For Islamabad, Imran Khalid claimed two wickets, whereas Sami, Russell and Mahmood claimed one wicket apiece.

In response, Islamabad chased the target in 18.5 overs courtesy of middle-order's batting performance. Skipper Misbah scored 38 from 38 deliveries, whereas Khalid Latif and Asif Ali scored 33 and 31 respectively.

Sohail Khan claimed two wickets for Karachi, with Amir, Mir and Bopara claiming one wicket apiece.

Post-match presentation

Man of the match is Imran Khalid for his bowling: “I would like to thank my fellow players and team management for giving me the opportunity and confidence to perform today.”

Misbahul Haq: “I am relieved with how Asif finished the game. He showed his prowess with the bat. Its good to get the win here today and we hope to continue to perform in the tournament.”

Shoaib Malik: “We have one more opportunity in this tournament and we hope to perform well in that in order to proceed to the next stage.”



ISL 131-5 (18.5 overs)

SIX! Pulled by Asif over deep wicket as Islamabad beat Karachi Kings by five wickets with seven balls to spare.



SIX! Another six from Asif. This time over the midwicket.



Mir Hamza to bowl the penultimate over.



ISL 118-5 (18 overs)

SIX! Asif goes flat over long-off.



FOUR! Leg-byes from Bopara.

OUT! Misbah gets caught at long-on. Azhar Mahmood replaces him.



Bopara.



ISL 103-4 (17 overs)

FOUR! Misbah finds fine-leg boundary.



Mohammad Amir.



ISL 97-4 (16 overs)

FOUR! Asif Ali smashes it towards midwicket.



Ravi Bopara.



ISL 89-4 (15 overs)

Six from the over.

Sohail Khan.



ISL 83-4 (14 overs)

OUT! STUMPED! Khalid Latif departs. Asif Ali replaces him.



FOUR! Misbah sweeps it down the leg-side.



Usama Mir.



ISL 77-3 (13 overs)

Three from the over.

Ravi Bopara.



ISL 74-3 (12 overs)

Three from the over.

Usama Mir.



ISL 71-3 (11 overs)

FOUR! Misbah plays a magnificent cut shot. Brings up the 50-run partnership.



Shakib.



ISL 65-3 (10 overs)

Four from the over.

Usama Mir.



ISL 61-3 (9 overs)

SIX! A clean hit by Khalid Latif over midwicket boundary.



Shakibal Hasan.



ISL 53-3 (8 overs)

FOUR! Misbah reserve sweeps and places it gently towards third man boundary.

FOUR! Khalid Latif finds the extra cover boundary.

Usama Mir.



ISL 42-3 (7 overs)

SIX! Latif flicks it for a six.



Mir Hamza.



ISL 32-3 (6 overs)

SIX! Khalid Latif gets off the mark with a six towards long-on.



Sohail Khan.



ISL 23-3 (5 overs)

Maiden over.

Mohammad Amir.



ISL 23-3 (4 overs)

FOUR! Poor fielding from Amir. Sloppy. Misbah gets a boundary.



OUT! Haddin goes as he gets caught at short midwicket. Misbahul Haq replaces Haddin.



Sohail Khan.



ISL 19-2 (3 overs)

OUT! HIT WICKET! The bowler seems happy as Russell departs. That was an easy one for Amir. Khalid Latif replaces Russell.



SIX! Russell strikes it down the ground.



Mohammad Amir.



ISL 13-1 (2 overs)

FOUR! Through the covers. Nice shot from Haddin.



OUT! Caught at midwicket. Sharjeel Khan departs. Brad Haddin replaces him.



Sohail Khan.



ISL 9-0 (1 over)

FOUR! Outside edge and Russell finds the third man boundary.



FOUR! Russell flicks it towards leg-side.

Andre Russell and Sharjeel Khan to open the batting for Islamabad.

Mohammad Amir to begin the bowling attack for Karachi.



KHI 128-5 (20 overs)

FOUR! Four byes. Haddin misses the delivery.



Azhar Mahmood to bowl the last over.



KHI 120-5 (19 overs)

FOUR! Shakibal Hasan finds the boundary at third man.

Andre Russell.



KHI 113-5 (18 overs)

OUT! Bopara gets caught at deep midwicket.  Shakibal Hasan replaces him.



Dropped! Golden chance for Islamabad to get rid of Bopara.



Mahmood.



KHI 108-4 (17 overs)

OUT! BOWLED! Looks like the forced change in bowling worked for Islamabad. Mushfiqur departs. Shoaib Malik replaces him.



Islamabad in trouble here. Looks like Sami injured his toe as the ball struck him. He is being replaced by Andre Russell for the remaining two deliveries.

SIX! Mushfiqur scoops it over the fine-leg boundary.



Sami.



KHI 99-3 (16 overs)

FOUR! Mushfiqur flicks it towards square leg.



Mahmood.



KHI 88-3 (15 overs)

FOUR! Bopara finds the boundary at extra cover.



Andre Russell.



KHI 81-3 (14 overs)

Two from the over.

Azhar Mahmood. 



KHI 79-3 (13 overs)

FOUR! Bopara clears the leg-side boundary.



Raees.



KHI 71-3 (12 overs)

FOUR! Rahim sweeps towards square leg.



FOUR! Through the covers.



Khalid.

KHI 59-3 (11 overs)

Six from the over.

Badree.

KHI 53-3 (10 overs)

Six from the over.

Imran Khalid.



KHI 47-3 (9 overs)

OUT! Haddin takes a simple catch behind the stumps and Shahzaib Hasan departs. Mushfiqur Rahim replaces him.



Sami.



KHI 46-2 (8 overs)

SIX! Hasan smashes it over the midwicket boundary.



Andre Russell.



KHI 35-2 (7 overs)

Just three from the over.

Mohammad Sami.



KHI 32-2 (6 overs)

Six from the over.

Rumman Raees.



KHI 26-2 (5 overs)

FOUR! Hasan gets down the pitch and smashes this one over the covers.



FOUR! Bopara sweeps it towards leg-side boundary.



Badree.



KHI 14-2 (4 overs)

Just a single from the over.

Imran Khalid.



KHI 13-2 (3 overs)

FOUR!x2 Back to back cut shots by Shahzaib Hasan.





Badree.



KHI 4-2 (2 overs)

OUT! LBW! Imad Wasim walks back to the dug out. This is a bad start for Karachi. Ravi Bopara replaces him.



OUT! James Vince gets caught at covers by Misbah. Imad Wasim replaces him.



Imran Khalid.



KHI 3-0 (1 over)

James Vince and Shahzaib Hasan to open batting for Karachi.

Samuel Badree to open the bowling attack for Islamabad.



Toss: Islamabad win toss, elect to field

Misbahul Haq: We will bowl first. It looks a bit sticky and the ball might come slow. Do and die situation for both teams. We will try to put our best performance. It's a tough situation. Watson is not here, I am also not fit, but we will try to perform well. Asif Ali replaces Saeed Ajmal and Azhar Mahmood replace injured Shane Watson.

Shoaib Malik: Yes it will be a challange, but we will try to put good total on the board so that bowlers can defend. We need more players to perform in this important match. Muhammad Amir is in for Sohail Tanvir and Shahzaib Hassan is in for Nauman Anwar.

English batsman Owais Shah joins the Karachi Kings team in Sharjah #HBLPSL #KarachiKings

— Karachi Kings (@KarachiKingsARY) February 14, 2016

#ISLU family welcomes @AzharMahmood11 in the #IsbUnited squad to replace our beloved @ShaneRWatson33 #ThankYouWatto pic.twitter.com/qtnXr3s370

— Islamabad United (@IsbUnited) February 14, 2016