Lahore Qalandars suffer sixth consecutive defeat in PSL3

Luke Ronchi's blistering 77 catapulted Islamabad United to a six-wicket win on Thursday, as Lahore Qalandars suffered their sixth consecutive defeat of this season.

Qalandars posted this highest total of this season, 163-8, buoyed by a quick fifty by Anton Devcich and a late cameo by captain Brendon McCullum.

However, Ronchi's fiery batting made the target look inadequate, as Islamabad chased it down with 14 balls to spare.

Chasing the a decent total, Duminy fell early after scoring 17-ball 21 off Sunil Narine's delivery, but Shadab Khan, sent in one down, kept the momentum going.

Ronchi brought up the fastest fifty in PSL history (off 22 balls), taking Islamabad to run-a-ball.

For Qalandars, Anton Devcich, making his first PSL appearance, stood out with 62 off 42 and McCullum posted 33* off 12 to compensate for a slower middle order, after United won the toss and elected to field in today's first Pakistan Super League (PSL) match.

Fakhar Zaman unleashed some quick boundaries, helped along by Kiwi batsman Devcich, in for Umar Akmal. But Fakhar's bold cameo ended at 34 when JP Duminy had him caught behind, with Lahore at 56-1 (6.4 overs).

Devcich kept the run rate ticking, reaching 50 from just 29 balls.

Sluggish batting by Denesh Ramdin slowed down Lahore's momentum. He was dismissed for 9 off 19 balls, followed soon after by Devcich, as Lahore stumbled at 122-4.

Faheem Ashraf led the wickets tally for Islamabad with figures of 3-32.