Azam Khan's 72 off 41 balls leaves Kings on the brink of elimination

Islamabad United 204 for 4 (Azam 72*, Faheem 41, Amir 1-40, Shamsi 1-40) beat Karachi Kings 201 for 5 (Imad 92*, Irfan 30, Curran 2-43) by six wicketsA remarkable counter-attacking knock from Azam Khan ambushed Karachi Kings, snatching a win away from them in a game they had been dominating from the start. Islamabad United's middle order batter smashed an unbeaten 72 off 41, putting up a 125-run stand with Faheem Ashraf and helping seal a six-wicket win. The loss put Kings on the brink of elimination.United had never chased a target in excess of 200 before, so when Kings put up 201, thanks in large part to another outstanding knock from their captain Imad Wasim, their batters were up against it. They started brightly, as United always do, but Mohammad Amir struck early to remove Colin Munro, and despite a cameo from Alex Hales, Aamer Yamin cleaned him up with the last ball of the powerplay. Rassie van der Dussen saw one stay low against him from Tabraiz Shamsi, and all of a sudden, United were three down at the halfway stage, and the asking rate had crept above 12.But Azam had decimated Quetta Gladiators a week earlier, and while he was at the crease, United were in it. He slapped Imad Wasim for a four and a six in the 11th over - there had been no boundaries scored in the previous four. It got United up and running again. A pair of sixes off Shamsi in the next saw the asking rate creep under 12.Faheem provided support, if not too many runs, from the other end, but Karachi were growing desperate for a breakthrough. That showed, in particular, in the face of Amir, who appealed incessantly for far-fetched lbw calls, and burned both Karachi reviews with reckless abandon. The muddled thinking was obvious when, having run out of reviews, Amir frantically signalled for another one on yet another unrealistic shout, only to be reminded that wasn't an option.But there was nothing clouding Azam's judgment now. He came and went past 50 with a huge six off Yamin, and boundaries came in every over from the 11th to the last.