(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) For most part, Kieron Pollard was inconspicuous through this edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL).
But when the chips were down and his team, the Karachi Kings needed him the most, the big West Indian delivered.
Needing 10 runs from the last two balls, Pollard smoked two successive sixes to ensure that the Karachi Kings live to fight another day.
The Karachi Kings won by five wickets against the Lahore Qalandars in Saturday's derby at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, a game rendered even more important as play-off positions were on the line.
Karachi Kings' thrilling win meant they are level on six points with the Lahore Qalandars. And Kumar Sangakkara's men have their destiny in their own hands when they take on Islamabad United in the last League game on Sunday night.
A victory there will put them through to the play-offs, at the expense of the Lahore Qalandars, who have wrapped up their League engagements. Quetta Gladiators, Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi have already qualified.
Pollard conjured an unbeaten 45 from 20 deliveries with four lusty sixes and one boundary. And after he hit the winning six, the Trinidadian threw his bat and helmet and did push-ups as his teammates rushed in to celebrate. Opener Babar Azam had earlier fallen one short of a second half-century in the tournament.
Earlier, the Lahore Qalandars managed to muster 155, which was perhaps par for the course. It was a sort of a indifferent innings with the Karachi Kings putting the brakes at regular intervals just when the Lahore Qalandars were trying to take flight. And it took the lower order pair of wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan and Sohail Tanvir, to give the Lahore Qalandars the impetus.
Rizwan remained unbeaten on 32, the top score for the Qalandars, while Tanvir was not out on 22. Much earlier, captain and opener Brendon McCullum hit some form with 31, his best score in the PSL so far.
Umar Akmal made 20, while Fakhar Zaman scored 19. Sunil Narine came up with a nice little cameo of 16.
Part-time off-spinner Shoaib Malik took two for 21, while young leg spinner Usama Mir too picked two wickets, conceding 38 runs.
Opener Cameron Delport fell in the fifth ball of the innings, caught by Karachi Kings captain and wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara, off left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir.
McCullum then strung together 36 runs for the second wicket with Zaman before the latter was caught by Imad Wasim off pacer Sohail Khan.
Before he fell, Zaman had scored two boundaries and a six off left-arm spinner Wasim. McCullum put together 31 runs for the third wicket with Akmal before he departed, becoming Mir's first of two victims. McCullum's 31 from 28 deliveries contained five boundaries.
Akmal and Narine then added 22 for the fourth wicket but both returned to the dug-out in quick succession.
Narine was caught by Wasim off Shoaib Malik, while Akmal fell to Mir, caught by Babar Azam. New Zealand's Grant Elliott was to go cheaply for two, caught by Usman Khan off Malik. Rizwan and Tanvir then swished their bat around for some crucial runs to swell Lahore Qalandars' total. The duo put on an unbroken 55 runs for the seventh wicket.
Rizwan's unbeaten 32 came from 24 balls and had two boundaries and a six, while Tanvir's unbeaten 22 was scored from 14 balls with two boundaries.
SCOREBOARD
Lahore Qalandars
Delport c Sangakkara b Amir 3
McCullum c Azam b Mir 31
Fakhar Zaman c Wasim b Sohail 19
Umar c Azam b Mir 20
Narine c Wasim b Malik 16
Elliott c Usman b Malik 2
Rizwan not out 32
Tanvir not out 22
Extras (lb 2, w 8) 10
Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 155 (7.75 runs per over)
Did not bat: Yamin, Yasir, Irfan
Fall of wickets 1-4 (Delport, 0.5 ov), 2-40 (Fakhar Zaman, 5.2 ov), 3-71 (McCullum, 9.5 ov), 4-93 (Narine, 12.4 ov), 5-94 (Umar Akmal, 13.1 ov), 6-100 (Elliott, 14.3 ov)
Bowling: Amir 4-0-30-1, Wasim 2-0-12-0, Sohail 3-0-28-1, Usman 3-0-24-0, Usama 4-0-38-2, Malik 4-0-21-2.
Karachi Kings
Azam c Umar b Zaman 49
Jayawardene run out 10
Sangakkara c Yamin b Narine 20
Malik run out 6
Bopara run out 2
Wasim not out 19
Pollard not out 45
Extras (b 1, lb 1, w 5) 7
Total (5 wickets; 20 overs) 158 (7.90 runs per over)
Did not bat: Sohail, Amir, Mir, Usman
Fall of wickets 1-27 (Jayawardene, 2.6 ov), 2-80 (Sangakkara, 11.2 ov), 3-84 (Babar Azam, 12.3 ov), 4-89 (Bopara, 13.4 ov), 5-103 (Shoaib Malik, 15.2 ov)
Bowling: Tanvir 4-0-40-0, Yamin 4-0-39-0, Narine 4-0-19-1, Irfan 1-0-8-0, Yasir 4-0-20-0, Elliott 1-0-14-0, Zaman 1-0-3-1, McCullum 1-0-13-0.
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