LAHORE: In a thrilling match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9th edition, Quetta Gladiators secured a hard-fought victory against Islamabad United by three wickets.
Chasing a target of 145 runs, the Gladiators faced a tough battle but ultimately emerged victorious. Led by captain Rilee Rossouw’s unbeaten 34, they reached the target in the 19th over, with Mohammad Amir also playing a crucial role with his unbeaten 11 runs.
This win marks Quetta Gladiators’ third consecutive victory of the season, positioning them alongside Multan Sultans as one of the only two teams with three wins in the tournament so far.
The chase began with an explosive innings from Jason Roy, who scored 37 runs off just 18 deliveries. However, his opening partner Saud Shakeel departed early, while Khawaja Nafay contributed only 9 runs before being dismissed.
Despite the stumbling start, captain Rilee Rossouw anchored the Gladiators’ innings with resilience. Further contributions came from Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sherfane Rutherford, Akeal Hosein, Mohammad Wasim, and Mohammad Amir, guiding the Gladiators to a total of 139/7 in 18.2 overs.
Naseem Shah and Shadab Khan stood out with the ball for Islamabad United, taking two wickets each, while Hunain and Rumman Raees claimed one wicket apiece.
Quetta Gladiators’ Spin Attack Restricts Islamabad United to 138
Earlier, Quetta Gladiators’ spin pair Abrar Ahmad and Akeal Hosein displayed some terrific bowling to restrict Islamabad United to a relatively low total of 138 for 9 in the 8th match of the PSL (Pakistan Super League) edition 9th being played at Qadhafi Stadium Lahore on Thursday. Both bowlers took 5 wickets in total and didn’t allow the top and middle order of United to stay on the crease for long.
Initiating the innings, openers of Islamabad United Alex Hales and Colin Munro took a flying start; however, Akeal Hosein got rid of Hales on 21. When the score reached 69 in the 8th over, Abrar Ahmad removed the second opener Colin Munro on 20. After the dismissal of the openers, the middle order collapsed except for number three batter Agha Salman who managed to stay on the crease.
On the other hand, no other batter stayed on the crease for long. In the 9th over, Hasnain dismissed the skipper Shadab Khan for just 2 runs. In the next over, Hosein got his second wicket and dismissed the out-of-form Azam Khan for just one run. At that stage, Islamabad United were 80 for 4 in 9.2 overs. Azam was followed by the set batter Agha Salman, who was removed by Abrar Ahmad after scoring 33 runs while facing 23 balls.
After losing 5 wickets, Imad Wasim and Jordan Cox showed some resistance; however, Abrar took his 3rd wicket to get rid of Wasim in the 16th over. At that stage, Islamabad were 105 for the loss of 6 wickets. After showing some resistance, Jordan Cox was also removed by Muhammad Waseem for 19 runs. The tailenders added a few crucial runs to the total, including 20 crucial runs from Faheem Ashraf. Islamabad United scored 138 for the loss of 9 wickets in 20 overs.
From Quetta Gladiators, Abrar Ahmad was the leading wicket-taker, taking 3 for 18 in his 4-over spell. Muhammad Waseem also took 3 wickets. Akeal Hosein grabbed 2 wickets each, while Muhammad Hasnain took one wicket.
