Sports Report
RAWALPINDI: Explosive batter Jason Roy’s record-breaking century led Quetta Gladiators to an eight-wicket victory over Peshawar Zalmi at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. Quetta Gladiators chase down a target of 241 with a whopping 10 balls to spare.
The Quetta Gladiators had a huge target to chase and stay alive in the tournament and eventually they did so with 10 balls to spare at the back of a scintillating knock by Jason Roy.
In pursuit of 241 runs target, the Quetta Gladiators’ openers Martin Guptill and Jason Roy gave their side a flying start as they straight away charged on Peshawar Zalmi bowlers; raising 40 runs in the third over.
Jason Roy was the core aggressor of the Quetta Gladiators’ counterattack but his partner Martin Guptill also began to catch up before Wahab Riaz outdid him with a short-pitch delivery. He scored a brisk eight-ball 21 including three boundaries and a six.
The hard-hitting opener Jason Roy’s marathon 145-run knock trumped Babar Azam’s maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) century. Quetta Gladiators successfully chased the highest run target to down Peshawar Zalmi and stayed in the playoff contention.
The English cricketer earlier also completed a 44-ball century against Peshawar Zalmi on behalf of the Quetta Gladiators, becoming the second-fastest batter to score a century.
Before Roy, Multan Sultans Riley Russo scored the fastest century off 43 balls in the 12th match of the tournament between Multan Sultan and Quetta Gladiators.
Following Roy and Russo is Lahore Qalandar’s Harry Brooks, who scored a 48-ball century in the seventh edition of PSL in February 2022 in a match between the Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United. Roy also scored 116 runs against Qalandars in Karachi last season.
Another exciting aspect of Roy’s ton is that during the same match, Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam scored a spectacular century, making this the first time in PSL history that two centuries have been scored in one match.
Opting to bat first against Gladiators, who took the field without their regular captain Sarfaraz Ahmed in a must-win clash, Zalmi openers gave their bowlers a ruthless thrashing as the pair recorded the second-highest PSL partnership for any wicket.
Peshawar Zalmi skipper Babar Azam scored his maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) century after Saim Ayub’s baton charge on the hapless Quetta Gladiators’ bowlers as Peshawar Zalmi scored the second-highest total of the ongoing eighth season.
Opting to bat first against Quetta Gladiators, who took the field without their regular captain Sarfaraz Ahmed in a must-win match, Peshawar Zalmi openers gave their bowlers a ruthless thrashing as the pair recorded the second-highest PSL partnership for any wicket. Babar replied to his critics with the bat by scoring his maiden century in PSL 8 with a strike rate of 171.66.
The two batters scored 162 runs off 81 balls to register the second-highest partnership in the tournament’s history.
Saim continued his top form and smashed 74 off just 34 balls, including all of his unbelievable shots. The left-handed batter impressed viewers by smashing six boundaries and five maximums.
Dwaine Pretorius bagged the young gun with a slower delivery in the 14th over. But Babar kept going and scored his first PSL century. The skipper suffered immense criticism for his strike rate in the previous match. However, he proved himself again by scoring a century, with an improved scoring rate.
He got run out after scoring 115, laced with 15 boundaries and three sixes.
In the end, Rovman Powell contributed a quick 18-ball 35. Pretorius was the lone wicket-taker in the first innings.
Peshawar Zalmi Playing XI
Mohammad Haris (wk), Babar Azam (c), Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Haseebullah Khan, Rovman Powell, Aamer Jamal, Wahab Riaz, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Arshad Iqbal
Quetta Gladiators Playing XI
Jason Roy, Will Smeed, Martin Guptill, Mohammad Hafeez, Iftikhar Ahmed, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Nawaz (c), Dwaine Pretorius, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Aimal Khan
