West Indies great Kieron Pollard rolled back the years with a match-winning fifty for Karachi Kings in their Pakistan Super League (PSL) clash against Lahore Qalandars on Saturday. Pollard slammed 58 off just 33 balls to guide Karchi Kings to a crucial win at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The former West Indies captain came out to bat with his team reeling at 44/4, while chasing 176. His knock saw Karachi Kings achieve the total on the final ball of the match.
Apart from his exploits with the bat, Pollard also had a busy day in the outfield, taking two brilliant catches to help his side restrict the hosts to 175/6.
He pulled off a stunning juggling catch to dismiss in-form batter Jahandad Khan. The incident happened in the 13th over of Lahore Qalandars’ innings when Jahandad tried to pull Mir Hamza for a six over long-off.
While Jahandad did manage to time his shot, Pollard used his height and athleticism to pull the ball back with one hand, before juggling the ball to complete the catch.
“You shall not pass!”
Pollard pulls off a magical catch #HBLPSL9 #KhulKeKhel #LQvKK pic.twitter.com/mpu2FGGg7o
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 24, 2024
Here’s how fans reacted to Pollard’s stunning effort:
Catch of Year So far!!!!
— Saleem (@Saleem_54Fan) February 24, 2024
unbelievable
— Ayyan Bukhari (@seen_sy_syed) February 25, 2024
Just wow pic.twitter.com/DiyvnrQtgK
— Urooj Jawed (@uroojjawed12) February 24, 2024
Ye hoti hai fielding.. humare walon se to hath mei aaya catch nhi pakra jaata
— Syed Zohaib (@syedzohaib92) February 24, 2024
Karchi Kings won the game by 2 wickets while Lahore Qalandars are yet to win a game so far this season.
Meanwhile, Several high-profile international cricketers have already pulled out of the PSL due to the overlapping of dates with other franchise-based tournaments and many cricket boards denying permission to their players to compete in domestic T20 competitions.
A PSL franchise owner reportedly told the PCB revisit the tournament window, as it is not possible to get big players when three leagues are happening on after the other.
“The SA20 ended recently and the ILT20 concludes on the day the PSL begins, so it is getting difficult to sign big players now,” he said on condition of anonymity.
He also pointed out that January-February is a busy season for international cricket series. Sri Lanka are playing a series against Afghanistan, South Africa are in the middle of a two-Test series against New Zealand while West Indies are playing a series against Australia.
“There is an acute need to change the PSL window, else it will lose its charm if we don’t get big overseas names,” he added.
(With PTI Inputs)
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