Skipper Rilee Rossouw kept his calm to help Quetta Gladiators beat Islamabad United by three wickets in a low-scoring thriller on Thursday.
Despite losing the plot at the back end, Rossouw held one end as his side stuttered to the 139-run target with 3 wickets and 10 balls in hand.
Batting first, Islamabad had a decent start to their innings, scoring 60 off the powerplay at the loss of Alex Hales’s wicket. He departed for 9-ball 21.
However, they threw off this start as soon as spinners were introduced. Abrar Ahmed, who played last season for Islamabad, bowled brilliantly for his figures of 4-18-0-4. Akeal Hosein also took two wickets for 32 runs.
Quetta had a conscious start to their chase, losing four wickets for just 54 runs. Saud Shakeel departed for 2, Khawaja Nafay 9, while Sarfaraz Ahmed scored just 1 run.
Jason Roy’s 18-ball 37 was the highest score that kept Quetta in the game.
Skipper Rilee Rossow (34 off 32) built a 62-run partnership with Sherfane Rutherford (29 from 23) to bring Quetta back into the game.
Just when things looked in their control, Quetta wobbled again, losing two back-to-back wickets of Rutherford and Mohammad Waseem Jr.
Mohammad Amir walked in when they required 12 runs in 18 balls and scored two crucial boundaries to finish the game with 10 balls in hand.
Points Table Update
With a third win on the bounce, Quetta Gladiators’ points tally jumps to six. They sit second in the points table, just beneath Multan Sultans, who have as many points but a better run rate. Islamabad United and Karachi Kings remain third and fourth on the points table with two points each, while Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi are in the 5th and 6th places with no wins.
Next Fixtures
Fans will witness an exciting contest between Multan Sultans and Peshawar Zalmi on Friday. The game will be played at the Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan, at 7 pm.
Past PSL Winners
PSL 2016 – Islamabad United
PSL 2017 – Peshawar Zalmi
PSL 2018 – Islamabad United
PSL 2019 – Quetta Gladiators
PSL 2020 – Karachi Kings
PSL 2021 – Multan Sultans
PSL 2022 - Lahore Qalandars
PSL 2023 - Lahore Qalandars