LAHORE — Wednesday night at Gaddafi Stadium had all the ingredients of a memorable PSL encounter, but it was a single over of bowling that will live long in the memory. Ali Raza, the left-arm spinner, capped off a sensational personal display with a hat-trick in the dying moments of Karachi Kings’ innings, leaving Peshawar Zalmi with a steep 183-run target in their PSL 11 fixture.
Karachi elected to bat and put together a competitive 182 for nine across their 20 overs — a total built primarily on the back of an explosive half-century by Jason Roy and a punishing cameo from Azam Khan.
The innings got underway briskly enough, with Roy and David Warner taking on the Zalmi attack from the outset. The pair had accumulated 35 runs before Ali Raza intervened, drawing Warner — who had contributed 11 from 13 deliveries — into a fatal misjudgement that ended with his stumps splattered. It was an early indication of the damage Raza would inflict by the end of the night.
With Warner back in the hut, Salman Ali Agha stepped in alongside Roy and kept the scoreboard ticking. The Kings moved past the 50-run mark comfortably before Aaron Hardie struck at the 7.4-over mark, removing Salman for a modest 12 off nine balls. Karachi were suddenly 71 for two and in need of consolidation.
Roy, however, was in no mood to slow down. Composed yet forceful at the crease, he navigated the middle overs with authority, eventually reaching his ninth PSL fifty — a milestone that underscored his growing influence in the competition. Reeza Hendricks offered able support before Sufiyan Muqeem prised him out for 13 off 16 balls, reducing Karachi to 98 for three just past the halfway mark.
What followed was a productive alliance between Roy and Azam Khan that ultimately shaped the innings. The two batters added 63 runs together, propelling the total past 150 with a flurry of boundaries and aggressive running. Azam was particularly brutal during his stay, crunching three fours and three sixes in a whirlwind 35 off just 19 balls before Iftikhar Ahmed finally sent him packing at 161 for four.
Roy’s dismissal came shortly after — caught off Mohammad Basit for a magnificent 85 from 51 balls, an innings laced with 11 fours and a brace of sixes. The Kings’ lynchpin was gone, and the late order looked to scramble whatever extras they could in the closing stages.
Then came the moment that defined the match. Ali Raza returned to bowl the final over, and what unfolded was nothing short of extraordinary. A run-out claimed Abbas Afridi — who had managed six from three — before Khushdil Shah fell in the most unusual of fashions, hit wicket for 12 on the very next ball. Raza then drilled a pinpoint yorker into Shahid Aziz’s toes to collect his second wicket of the over. With the final delivery of the innings, he sent Hasan Ali back first ball without troubling the scorer, completing a stunning hat-trick that brought the crowd to its feet.
Raza finished with a spell that will be replayed on highlight reels for some time, capping an innings that gives Karachi Kings real reason for confidence as Peshawar Zalmi prepare to chase.
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