The Pakistan Super League (PSL) has been a great nursery for future stars ever since its inaugural edition in 2016 and the fourth edition is turning out to be no different.
Karachi Kings’ Umer Khan was in the spotlight on Saturday as he lined up against a formidable Lahore Qalandars batting unit and the 19-year-old came up with the goods with figures of 2-25.
Among Umer’s dismissals on Saturday was AB de Villiers with the youngster showing no signs of nerves in only his second PSL 2019 outing.
Here, we take a closer look at the left-arm spinner’s display against the Qalandars.
STATISTICS
OVERS: 4
RUNS CONCEDED: 25
WICKETS: 2
MAIDENS: 0
ECONOMY-RATE: 6.25
30-SECOND REPORT
Brought into the attack in the eighth over, the youngster bowled a terrific first over in which he conceded just three runs and picked up the wicket of Sohail Akhtar who was looking extremely good.
One tight over later, Umer had landed the big fish in the form of De Villiers by having the South African ace caught at deep square-leg.
The left-arm orthodox spinner was hit for a six by Mohammad Hafeez in his final over but he closed out his spell well to end with figures of 2-25.
OUT! Sohail Akhtar (39) connects well, gets the elevation, but could not get the distance. Umer Khan has the wicket and Lahore Qalandars are 64/1 after 8 overs
— Cricingif (@_cricingif) February 16, 2019
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details 👉 https://t.co/bd3sKOQLxh #PSL2019 #KKvLQ #KhelDeewanoKa #CricketForAll pic.twitter.com/ojddg2ABd8
GOT RIGHT
Presence of mind. Despite not having many variations in his kitty, Umer outfoxed both Sohail and ABD by cleverly changing his pace.
When he saw de Villiers back away from the stumps to go on the attack, he followed the batsman and took some more pace off the ball and that paid off with the South African finding the fielder in the deep with his attempted slog towards the on-side.
UMER KHAN DISMISSES AB DE VILLIERS! THIS IS WHAT #PSL2019 IS ALL ABOUT!
— Cricingif (@_cricingif) February 16, 2019
He takes out @ABdeVilliers17 and @lahoreqalandars are 82/3 in the 12th over against @KarachiKingsARY
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details 👉 https://t.co/bd3sKOQLxh #KKvLQ #KhelDeewanoKa #CricketForAll pic.twitter.com/T7Wt8XlyPg
GOT WRONG
While he was generally very tight with his lines, a brief lapse in concentration in his final over saw him land the ball right in the slot for Hafeez and the Lahore skipper made no mistake by punishing it for a huge six.
VERDICT – 8/10
On a surface where the slower bowlers thrived, Umer showed that his excellent showing against Multan Sultans (1-9 in 2 overs) was no fluke.
His dismissal of De Villiers was a big turning point in the game. The teenager has now conceded only 34 runs from his six overs combined in two clashes and has already bagged three wickets.
If he keeps up these impressive displays, Umer might just turn out to be the find of the PSL.
