Quetta Gladiators emerged victorious over Karachi Kings by four wickets in the 22nd match of the Pakistan Super League season eight (PSL 8) played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Martin Guptill’s unbeaten 86 runs innings played a crucial role in Quetta’s win, as they chased down a 165-run target in 19.5 overs to register their second win in the tournament.

Quetta Gladiators struggled for most of their chase, losing wickets regularly, but Guptill’s onslaught at death helped them to a four-wicket win.

The New Zealander played a match-defining innings and scored 86 runs off 56 balls.

Guptill’s unbeaten innings included nine fours and four sixes, and he smashed James Fuller for 24 runs, including two towering sixes and three fours in the 18th over.

The Gladiators were struggling at 63-5 inside 10 overs but a fantastic partnership between Martin Guptill and Sarfaraz Ahmed helped them recover.

The pair added 95 runs, with Guptill smashing nine fours and four sixes while Sarfaraz scored 29 off 25 balls.

The Gladiators needed 68 runs from the final five overs, and the duo went on to launch a massive assault on the Karachi bowlers.

Guptill hit a six off Mohammad Amir in the 16th over, which was followed by another boundary, and the Gladiators reached 78 runs in four overs.

Aamer Yamin needed to defend eight runs off the last over, and Sarfaraz’s run-out on the second ball made things interesting.

However, Dwaine Pretorius, playing his first HBL PSL 8 match, smashed a boundary, took two runs, and hit another four to take Quetta Gladiators over the line.

Meanwhile, Karachi Kings had a disastrous start to their innings as Naseem Shah removed Matthew Wade on the first ball of the match.

Tabraiz Shamsi then did most of the damage, dismissing Iftikhar Ahmed and Najibullah Zadran in consecutive overs.

Adam Rossington was the only batsman to make a significant contribution, scoring 69 off 45 balls with ten fours and a six.

Imad Wasim remained unbeaten on 30 off 20 balls as the middle-order failed to fire.

Aimal Khan was the pick of the Gladiators bowlers, taking two wickets for 26 runs, and Naseem Shah also picked up two wickets.

Ultimately, Karachi Kings managed to post 164 runs on the board which wasn’t enough.

With this win, Quetta Gladiators received two more points but remained at the bottom of the points table with only four points.

Lahore Qalandars continued to lead the table with six wins from seven games and 12 points, guaranteeing their place in the playoff stage.

Quetta Gladiators’ previous win this season was also against Karachi Kings.

Guptill was responsible for that victory too, as he hit the first century of the season in that match.

Out of his 252 runs this season, 203 have come against Karachi Kings, and his best score against any other opposition is 15.

Scores

Karachi Kings 164-6, 20 overs (Adam Rossington 69, Imad Wasim 30 not out, Aamer Yamin 23 not out; Aimal Khan 2-26, Naseem Shah 2-31)

Quetta Gladiators 168-6, 19.5 overs (Martin Guptill 86 not out, Sarfaraz Ahmed 29; Tabraiz Shamsi 2-20)

Player of the match – Martin Guptill (Quetta Gladiators)

Karachi Kings Fall of wickets:

1-0 (Matthew Wade – 0.1 ov), 2-25 (Tayyab Tahir – 3.3 ov), 3-58 (Qasim Akram – 7.3 ov), 4-78 (Shoaib Malik – 11.2 ov), 5-124 (Adam Rossington – 16.2 ov), 6-131 (James Fuller – 17.3 ov)

Quetta Gladiators Fall of wickets:

1-14 (Omair Bin Yousuf – 1.4 ov), 2-37 (Mohammad Nawaz – 4.6 ov), 3-48 (Iftikhar Ahmed – 6.6 ov), 4-50 (Najibullah Zadran – 8.1 ov), 5-63 (Umar Akmal – 9.5 ov), 6-158 (Sarfaraz Ahmed – 19.2 ov)

Karachi Kings Playing XI :

Adam Rossington, Matthew Wade (wk), Tayyab Tahir, Shoaib Malik, Qasim Akram, Imad Wasim (c), James Fuller, Aamer Yamin, Tabraiz Shamsi, Muhammad Musa Khan, Mohammad Amir

Quetta Gladiators Playing XI :

Martin Guptill, Najibullah Zadran, Omair Yousuf, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Umar Akmal, Mohammad Nawaz, Iftikhar Ahmed, Dwaine Pretorius, Aimal Khan, Naveen ul Haq, Naseem Shah