There was no blip in last year’s win, and this year’s title defense is no concession. That was the explicit signal sent out by Karachi Kings, not only to the hapless Quetta Gladiators, who were crushed by seven wickets in this season’s opening PSL clash, as well as to the rest of the teams. For having go of Mohammad Rizwan in the off season, the Kings may have picked up criticism, but it was the new wicketkeeping hire Joe Clarke who is now the star of the show for the side of Imad Wasim, taking four catches and blitzing 46 of 23 balls to rip the match away from the Gladiators.

The victory was originally set up by Kings bowling attack – between them emerging talent Arshad Iqbal leader – who shattered the Gladiators during the innings with frequent wickets, and eventually bowled them out for 121 in 18.2 overs.

Quetta, somewhat surprisingly, upon being put in, opened the batting with Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed alongside Tom Banton instead of Chris Gayle’s more apparent choice. Banton’s stay was intangible, crashing in the first over to a low-percentage hoick. When Gayle settled in, he searched for a likely match-winning number for Quetta Gladiators, the most dangerous outlet. No one, furthermore, kept him company, so before slipping to 39 out of 24, the Jamaican himself managed something of a cameo. Azam Khan’s 17 was second best for the Gladiators.

A score of 122 wasn’t ever going to challenge the Kings’ hitting power, and it made the target look small when Joe Clarke hit a mesmerising 23-ball 46 on his PSL debut.