The opening ceremony of HBL PSL 2021 took place at the National Stadium ahead of Karachi King’s match against Quetta Gladiators.
Pakistan’s biggest T20 tournament, the Pakistan Super League season 6 kick-off in Karachi on Saturday with a star-studded opening ceremony ahead of the opening match between defending champions Karachi Kings and one-time winner Quetta Gladiators.
PSL 2021 Opening Ceremony
The ceremony, which was being attended by a 20% crowd due to pandemic caused by Coronavirus therefore govt allowed 20% in the stands for HBL PSL 2021, was opened with the national anthem of Pakistan.
PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani welcomed the overseas players, support staff and guests at the start of the ceremony.
“This year’s PSL is being played in only Karachi and Lahore and due to coronavirus 7,500 people will be able to [attend matches in] Karachi and 5,500 in Lahore,” said Mani.
He added that he is “hopeful” that if the situation remains stable then more people will be able allowed to attend the matches.
He thanked the fans for making PSL Pakistan’s “biggest brand”. He also extended gratitude to the government for allowing PCB to hold the PSL.
Mani wished all the six teams the best of luck in the competition and hoped that the best team wins the trophy.
Following the welcome by Mani, the HBL president spoke to the audience.
With the formalities done and dusted, superstar Atif Aslam took the stage with his song Adat, which shot him to fame in the country.
With the audience left stunned by Atif’s performance, in came singer Imran Khan with his hit song “Amplifier”.
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The performance was arguably more “amplified” as actress Humaima Mallick danced to the track, besides swaying to “Bewafa” and other songs.
With the audience pumped up by Atif, Imran Khan and Humaima Mallick. the stage was all set for Nassebo Lal, Aima Baig, and Young Stunners to come and enthral the audience with the anthem for this year’s edition “Groove Mera”.
To top off all the celebrations, the PCB put on a fireworks display to mark the start of cricket festivities.
Karachi Kings outclassed Gladiators in PSL 2021 opener
Defending champions Karachi Kings beat former champions Quetta Gladiators by seven wickets in the opening match of the Pakistan Super League’s sixth edition, at the National Stadium in Karachi on Saturday.
The Gladiators, after being invited to bat first, lost wickets at regular intervals and could only muster 121 runs — with only four players reaching double-digits — in the face of some terrific seam bowling by the Kings, for whom the young Arshad Iqbal (3-16) proved instrumental.
In response, the Kings’ run chase was never in trouble. Despite losing the early wicket of Sharjeel Khan, they immediately got back on their feet, reaching their target with more than six overs and seven wickets to spare.
Squads
Following are the squads of both the teams for the tournament:
Quetta Gladiators: Anwar Ali, Azam Khan, Ben Cutting, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Zahid Mahmood, Chris Gayle, Tom Banton, Usman Khan Shinwari, Cameron Delport, Qais Ahmad, Abdul Nasir, Saim Ayub, Arish Ali Khan, Usman Khan, Hassan Khan (as a partial replacement for Dale Steyn).
Karachi Kings: Amir Yamin, Arshad Iqbal, Babar Azam, Colin Ingram, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Sharjeel Khan, Waqas Maqsood, Mohammad Nabi, Dan Christian, Chadwick Walton, Joe Clarke, Noor Ahmad, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Ilyas, Zeeshan Malik, Qasim Akram
Match Summary:
