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PSL 2022 | Alex Hales leaves tournament midway for personal reasons

Kingshuk Kusari

English star opener Alex Hales has decided to pull out of the remainder of the Pakistan Super League for personal reasons. The update comes as a big blow to Islamabad United who were very much dependent on Hales and Ireland Paul Stirling for an explosive start. The two right handers had struck a chord and have done fairly well for the franchise - especially Hales who is at the moment the fifth-highest run-getter in the tournament.

This is a double jolt for Islamabad considering they had to let go of Stirling for his national commitments in Oman where he is playing the Quadrangular series and it was Hales who had been the more dominant attacker partnering with Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

It needs to be mentioned that two days ago Hales was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League and with the chances of playing in the first XI there, he would have been looking at a long bio-bubble tenure that could possibly have been extended till June 1.

Several reports in the Pakistan media suggested that Hales has chosen to leave the tournament over bubble fatigue but nothing has been made official yet.

In his absence, Islamabad would probably be pairing Gurbaz with New Zealander Colin Munro.

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PSL 2022 | Maqsood shows nerves of steel as Islamabad steal win in thriller versus Karachi

Islamabad United's Waqas Maqsood bowled an exceptional final over to hand his team a win from the jaws of defeat against Karachi Kings in Lahore in a PSL 2022 fixture. Needing 8 off the final over with five wickets in hand, the Kings looked pretty steady to clinch a win but Maqsood turned the game on its head. Imad Wasim and Qasim Akram were at the crease and the two batters were looking in great touch. Maqsood bowled a dot delivery first-up but was hit for a boundary on the second one bringing down the equation to 4 off 4. The two batters had already stitched a stand of 108 runs for the sixth wicket but what unfolded next was simply a treat for the spectators. Maqsood removed Imad for a 28-ball 55 after he was caught by Alex Hales at mid-off. But the batsmen had changed ends during the course and Qasim was on strike now. The bowler then bowled a wide delivery and gave away a single on the next one bringing the equation down to 2 off 2. The new batsman Thompson was on strike now to face the penultimate ball but couldn't really help his side as he was cleaned up for a golden duck. The Karachi Kings now needed 2 off the final ball with Chris Jordan on strike. Maqsood bowled a slower length ball that Jordan mistimed but the bowler failed to grab a catch in his follow-through. Though, he was aware enough to not allow the batters to complete the single and take the match into the Super Over. Maqsood quickly recovered and threw the ball at the stumps on the non-striker's end to send Jordan packing for a first-ball duck and win the game for his side by 1 run. The Kings were restricted to 190/8 in 20 overs eventually. Qasim Akram remained unbeaten at 51 off 26. Earlier, Karachi had a struggling start to the chase as they lost wickets at regular intervals to get reduced to 80/5 before Imad and Qasim got into the act. Apart from these two, Sharjeel was among the runs as he struck 44 off 29. Waqas returned with figures of 3/34 in 4 overs. The Islamabad United also faced some issues with the bat as they too lost wickets at regular succession but a late surge from Asif Ali and Faheem Ashraf helped the side post 191/7 in 20 overs. Asif scored 28 off 11 deliveries while Faheem chipped in with a 10-ball 29. Imad Wasim was the pick of the bowlers after he scalped a couple of wickets for 30 runs in 4 overs. "The way the team fought, felt good. Mindset is always positive in every match. Have to play according to the situation. The first 10 overs we utilised well but then didn't bowl in our areas to concede 190. Their partnership brought us back in the game. Qasim came straight from the U19, played superbly," Babar Azam said after the match.