Babar Azam’s fluent half-century guided Karachi Kings to their maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) title by defeating fellow first-time finalists Lahore Qalandars at Karachi’s National Stadium on Tuesday (November 17).
Chasing 135 for victory, opener Babar led the way for the home team with 63 not out off 49 balls to cross the finish line with five wickets in hand.
“I have been having a good time with the bat. I didn’t panic and played according to the situation. The wicket was a little slow. I played my normal game, I try to stay clam. Our team were brilliant in the field today,” Azam said after the match.
The star batsman was also adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ and ‘Player of the Tournament’. He smashed his fifth half-century of the competition and finished PSL 2020 as the leading run-scorer with 473 runs.
MAN OF THE MATCH ✅
MAN OF THE TOURNAMENT ✅
CHAMPION ✅🏆 @babarazam258 🏆
#PhirSeTayyarHain #KKvLQ #HBLPSLV pic.twitter.com/o35CllmLRe
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) November 17, 2020
Earlier, Qalandars lineup packed with power-hitters stuttered against Kings’ all-Pakistan bowling attack.
Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the champions of the #HBLPSLV:@KarachiKingsARY
Deano would be proud 💙❤️
#PhirSeTayyarHain #KKvLQ #HBLPSLV pic.twitter.com/p2mW2qNWuZ
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) November 17, 2020
After the match, Kings head coach and legendary Pakistan seamer Wasim Akram paid homage to late Dean Jones. “I enjoyed coaching this team. I got goosebumps listening to you guys speak about Deano, we all miss him a lot. This victory is also for the Karachi fans,” Akram said.
A special victory for Karachi Kings, which coach Wasim Akram dedicated to the late Dean Jones 🌟 pic.twitter.com/RM5LIZdbfL
— ICC (@ICC) November 17, 2020
Brief scores:
Lahore Qalandars 134/7 in 20 overs (Tamim Iqbal 35; Umaid Asif 2/18, Waqas Maqsood 2/18) lost to Karachi Kings 135/5 in 18.4 overs (Babar Azam 63 not out; Dilbar Hussain 2/28) by five wickets.
