Hales helps Islamabad snatch second spot in PSL
Alex Hales marked his return to Islamabad United with a blistering 88 as his side secured a top-two finish in the Pakistan Super League by beating Karachi Kings by 79 runs.Hales, who joined Islamabad following the PSL's resumption, hit eight sixes as Islamabad piled up 251-5.He put on a 153-run opening stand with Sahibzada Farhan, who made 73, before being bowled in the 17th over. Shadab Khan also added a 19-ball 42.Karachi reached 80-1 in response but crumbled after James Vince was caught at long-on for eight and were dismissed for 172 in 18.2 overs.Had Karachi reached 204 they would have held onto second place but, having been overtaken by Islamabad on net run-rate, they drop to third and must now play in the eliminator.The play-offs begin on Wednesday with the first qualifier between Islamabad, who had lost four matches in a row after starting with five wins, and leaders Quetta Gladiators with the winner progressing directly to the final.The eliminator between takes place a day later between Karachi and Lahore Qalandars.Scorecard, PSL fixtures & results, table
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Curran & Bell among new names in Big Bash draft
England all-rounder Sam Curran has entered the Big Bash draft as he looks to play in the tournament for the first time. The 27-year-old has played franchise cricket in the Indian Premier League, SA20 and ILT20 but is yet to play in Australia's 20-over tournament. Seamer Lauren Bell is in the women's draft having last played in the competition in 2023. Heather Knight (Sydney Thunder), Sophie Ecclestone (Sydney Sixers) and Danni Wyatt-Hodge (Hobart Hurricanes) were also listed in the first round of nominations and will be able for Indies' Deandra Dottin (Melbourne Renegades), South Africa's Shabnim Ismail (Thunder) and India's Jemimah Rodrigues (Adelaide Strikers) can also be Hales was the other Englishman on the first take of the men's list and can be retained by Thunder alongside New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson, while Pakistan's Haris Rauf could stay at Melbourne was joined on the list by compatriots Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Shadab Khan, with all three players available to every side. The draft for the 2025-26 Big Bash tournaments takes place on 19 June.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Hasan puts Bears hat-trick down to healthy habits
Birmingham Bears bowler Hasan Ali believes personal discipline is behind his record-breaking start to the T20 Blast Pakistan paceman became the first Bears bowler to take a T20 hat-trick and recorded the club's best figures of 6-23 in the format to help crush Derbyshire by 58 runs on missed the Bears' opening two defeats - to Nottinghamshire and Durham -but returned in Friday's win over Yorkshire, just two days after arriving in England from international duty with Pakistan."I've played two months of cricket," he told BBC Radio WM. "First I played international T20, then with the PSL [Pakistan Super League], then national team, and then I just arrived 4 June and played two back-to-back games."As a professional if you're eating well and sleeping well and drinking well, you're fresh and ready to go. As a professional we have to adapt and be very disciplined and take care of our bodies really well." Against the Falcons at Edgbaston, Hasan removed both David Lloyd and Martin Andersson in the space of four balls in his first back to bowl the 17th over, he had Ross Whiteley caught by George Garton for 50 before the same combination removed Alex Thomson for a first-ball duck. It left Ben Aitchison to face the hat-trick ball."When I got two wickets I spoke with Tom Latham and we were making plans for the next ball," Hasan said."He (Aitchison) was standing on the leg side and I said I should go for the yorker and it succeeded and I got my first hat-trick in T20."With the first ball of his fourth over, Hasan bowled Pat Brown for his fourth wicket in five balls to bowl out Derbyshire for 30-year-old, in his third season at Edgbaston, hopes to take the Bears to finals day after topping the North Group for the last three seasons but falling at the quarter-final stage each time."Bears have been playing fantastic cricket in the Blast over the years and there's a small part we have to do to get past the quarter-finals and we're looking for that this year," he added. Ali goes up against Ravi Bopara - his head coach at PSL side Karachi Kings - on Wednesday when the Bears head to North Group leaders Northants Steelbacks before a trip to Headingley two days later.
The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
Luke Wood takes England return in his stride after ‘weird' PSL experience
Nerves were never likely to be an issue on Luke Wood's England comeback, with the left-armer returning to the fold just a month after he was caught up in the escalating conflict between India and Pakistan. Wood was playing for Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League when political tensions between the two nations developed into military clashes over the disputed Kasmir region, forcing both the PSL and Indian Premier League to be suspended. Overseas players left the country as concerns grew, but the Lancashire seamer was among those who returned to finish the tournament after a short hiatus, playing two more games in Rawalpindi. With that experience in his recent past, the 29-year-old was unlikely to be fazed by his return to the international stage after 21 months. He made the perfect start in Sunday's series-clinching T20 win over the West Indies, pinning Evin Lewis lbw with his very first ball, and was later named player of the match after taking two for 25 in a contest dominated by the bat. 'It was a weird dynamic to be in. You don't know what to believe and we get told to wait for the facts from certain people,' he said of his interrupted stay at the PSL. 'When we left it was the right time to go, but credit to them for making it a safe place for people to come back to. 'I understand the lads with young families might not have wanted to go back for certain reasons, but, for me personally, once I was told it was fine I was happy to go back and credit to them for getting it on. 'As players we're there to play cricket. If it's not safe we go, if it is safe we play. It hasn't put me off at all, it's part and parcel of the world. Pakistan and India have disagreements over that piece of land. 'This time it extended a bit too far for what we would like, but it's nothing you can control. The security they have in Pakistan is amazing and they looked after us really well. That's all you can ask for.' Wood was described as a 'point of difference' by captain Harry Brook, with his left-arm angle and ability to bowl fast, swinging yorkers making him a potent threat with the new ball. He has a happy knack of striking with the opening delivery of the innings too, Lewis' dismissal following in the footsteps of Tim Seifert and Ben McDermott at the PSL. 'It's a method I've got, I pride myself on starting well,' he said. 'That is a big thing for me and it's big for the team, to set the tone well. That's what my main role is. Warm-up wise, before a game, I do everything I can to be really ready for that first ball. it's not a loosener, it's full on. 'A lot of my strength is up front, a lot of the stuff I bowl in my warm-up is focused around that first ball. 'But I don't want to be pigeon-holed as someone who just bowls at the start, I've always said that, and I'll work on what I need to work on to become just as well renowned at the death too.' The West Indies tour concludes with Tuesday's third T20 in Southampton, when England will be hoping to wrap up a second series sweep in a row under Brook's captaincy.
