Karachi Kings’ Khushdil Shah (centre) celebrates taking a wicket with teammates during their PSL 10 match against Peshawar Zalmi at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi on April 21, 2025. — PCB
KARACHI: Khushdil Shah and Abbas Afridi shared six wickets between them to help Karachi Kings curtail Peshawar Zalmi to a modest total in the 11th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 here at the National Bank Stadium on Monday.

Put into bat first on a challenging surface, Zalmi’s batting unit could accumulate 147/8 in their allotted 20 overs despite skipper Babar Azam’s gutsy knock.

The visitors got off to a shaky start to their innings as their dynamic opener Saim Ayub walked back in the third over after scoring a mere four.

Following the early hiccup, skipper Babar put together a one-sided partnership with Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who could score seven off six deliveries before getting dismissed by Khushdil Shah in the seventh over.

The star batter was then involved in another crucial partnership for Zalmi when he added 31 runs for the third wicket with Mohammad Haris before finally falling victim to Khushdil.

Babar remained the top-scorer for Zalmi with a 41-ball 46, which featured seven boundaries.

Experienced Hussain Talat then joined Haris in the middle and attempted to force recovery.

The duo batted sensibly to add 37 runs for the fourth wicket until Talat was outfoxed by Aamir Jamal’s slower delivery and walked back after scoring 18 off 16 deliveries with the help of three boundaries.

His dismissal sparked a collapse, which saw Zalmi losing four more wickets in quick succession, including that of their set batter Haris, and were thus eventually reduced to 136/8 in 19 overs.

Haris remained a notable run-getter for Zalmi with a 21-ball 28, featuring four boundaries.

For Kings, Abbas and Khushdil took three wickets each, while Jamal and Mir Hamza made one scalp apiece