Karachi adores Babar Azam so much, you would think he wasn’t from the Walled City of Lahore, but from Gulistan-e-Johar.
Chants of Babar, Babar emanated from the stands right from the first ball.
It’s no secret that the former captain is not in form, and was troubled by Karachi Metroville-native Mir Hamza early on, with a close LBW and later a dropped catch in Hamza’s second over. This reprieve did not entirely settle Babar’s nerves either, and after 6 overs Zalmi were on 27-1, though by now in one Abbas Afridi over, Babar had somehow both mistimed a boundary, and played a confident pull coming down the crease.
Two fours off Aamer Jamal took Babar to a strike rate above 100, but then soon after a stylish cut off Khushdil Shah, the Zalmi captain was caught in front of his stumps with a faster ball, and the base that he built was now unraveling.
David Warner is 38 years old, yet the way he fields and runs between the wickets you would think he’s hoping to impress selectors. Punches on both sides of the wicket led to quick singles and Warner stayed busy in the middle, constantly adjusting his gloves while the heat from a high of 40 degrees during the day, did not let up much in the evening.
The opener remained animated throughout the match, but particularly so when Irfan Khan Niazi was run out. Warner waved his hands in despair and kicked his bat.
The third umpire was apparently so moved by this display, that he at first incorrectly pressed the button for Not Out, to which a confused Irfan Khan Niazi took a couple steps back towards the wicket before the correct decision of Out flashed across the big screen.
Warner’s innings made the foundation for Karachi Kings winning a tight match, with his vice-captain Hasan Ali, fast becoming the nation’s PSL darling once again, pulled medium-pacer Hussain Talata slightly confusing choice to defend 9 from the final overto hit the winning runs.
At the time of writing, there are 23 matches left in the PSL, yet the National Stadium Karachi (now adorned with its sponsor’s name, National Bank), will not see its lights turn on for the remainder of the tournament.
Quetta Gladiators shifting its “home ground” to Lahore (with one match in Rawalpindi), and no knockout games set in the city, mean that the 5 Karachi Kings home games will be all that the city witnesses.
Punishment for low crowds in the past in Karachi has been meted out not only by the reduction in matches, but also by a bizarre schedule (including three matches in the space of four days), resulting in Karachi being absent for the majority of Pakistan’s most notable sporting event.
Add to this ticketing woes. The TCS website kept giving error messages when reserving tickets online even the day before the match, and the Nursery TCS branch that I visited had its only representative there say that several people had come in with the same issue. In an era where food delivery to your home or office can happen via a smartphone, an international logistics company has not yet figured out how to print and deliver tickets on demand.
Finally, perhaps the biggest reason why crowd numbers in Karachi remain abysmally low is Sindh Police. Every gate on the perimeter of the stadium has police roughing up and treating every spectator with suspicioncrowd management is clearly not their strong suit. Come inside the ground, and pick up trucks zooming around the stadium with disdain for spectator safety makes everyone coming to the ground feel unwelcome.
The PCB and PSL organizers would do better by having trained to manage crowd, and have police play a supporting role, instead of being the ones to check tickets or give information.
#Kings #battled #Fortress #Karachi
Leave a Reply