LAHORE: Quetta Gladiators defeated Islamabad United by three wickets in the eighth match of the HBL-PSL-9, here at the Gadaffi stadium on Thursday.
Quetta won the toss and opted to field. Islamabad United set a target of 139 while batting first. While chasing the target of 139, Quetta Gladiators achieved the target in the 19th over. Skipper Rilee Rossouw scored unbeaten 34 while pacer Mohammad Amir scored unbeaten 11 runs.
With this win, Gladiators registered their third win and are one of the only two teams to have trio of victories with Multan Sultans. At the start of the chase, Jason Roy demonstrated an impressive performance, scoring 37 runs off 18 balls at a remarkable strike rate of 205.55.
Roy’s partner Saud Shakeel was dismissed earlier in the second over to Naseem Shah. Khawaja Nafay contributed 9 runs off 9 balls before being dismissed by Rumman Raees
Quetta Gladiators faced early setbacks, but Rilee Rossouw, serving as the captain, displayed resilience, finishing the innings not out with a commendable score of 34 runs off 38 balls, maintaining a steady strike rate of 89.47.
Akeal Hosein faced an unfortunate run-out, managing to contribute 8 runs off 2 balls at an impressive strike rate of 400.00. Quetta achieved the target of 139/7 in 18.2 overs, maintaining a run rate of 7.58.
For Islamabad United, Naseem Shah and Shadab took two wickets each while Hunain and Rumman snared one wicket each.
Earlier, the formidable batting lineup of the Islamabad United managed to score 138/9 in the allocated 20 overs after being asked to bat first.
The two-time champions got off to a strong start in their innings, with Alex Hales hitting two consecutive sixes off Akeal Hosein in the third over. However, the spinner retaliated and dismissed him with the next delivery. Hales also managed to score a boundary in his brief innings, accumulating a nine-ball 21.
After the initial setback, Salman Ali Agha joined hands with Colin Munro, stabilizing the innings with a 40-run partnership.
The pair seemed to have settled in before Abrar Ahmed removed Munro in the eighth over, with the team’s score at 69. Munro struggled to a scrappy 20 off 22 deliveries, including one boundary and a six. His dismissal triggered a collapse in the middle order, as the United slipped to 87/5 in 11.3 overs, with set batter Agha also departing.
Agha emerged as the top-scorer for the United with a 23-ball 33, featuring five boundaries. With the Islamabad United facing significant trouble, Imad Wasim and Jordan Cox cautiously built a partnership for the sixth wicket but found it challenging against the formidable Gladiators’ bowling attack.
They added only 18 runs to the total before Abrar dismissed Imad in the 16th over, who managed to score nine off 15 deliveries.
Cox, on the other hand, fell in the 18th over after scoring 20 off 14 deliveries. Abrar and Mohammad Wasim Jr claimed three wickets each for the Gladiators, while Hosein secured two wickets.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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