Sports Desk
LAHORE/MULTAN: Quetta Gladiators emerged victorious in a humdinger of a game against Peshawar Zalmi at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday, as the Babar Azam-led side fell short of 16 runs to reach the massive, 207-run target.
Thanks to the stellar 157-runs stand between Saud Shakeel and Jason Roy, Gladiators had good runs on the board and despite losing wickets, the side did manage to get past the 200-run mark.
Though the Zalmi started off with a bang but failed to chase the target as Quetta bowlers put in a remarkable effort in the death overs.
Azam top scored for his side by scoring 68 runs on 42 balls courtesy of eight boundaries but his efforts went in vain as his side fell 17 runs short of the total target set by the Gladiators.
Zalmi had a thrilling start, Saim Ayub and Azam were well set on the crease as they were heading towards 100 for no loss. However, in the ninth over, a misunderstanding between the two batters cost them a big blow.
Saim lost his wicket after scoring 42 runs after getting run out leaving his side 91-1 in 8.4 overs. Mohammad Haris came in after the left-handed batter’s departure but he too walked back to the pavilion shortly after scoring just 7 runs.
Azam stayed on the crease as he continued to score for his side, but the Zalmi skipper mistimed his shot on mystery spinner’s Abrar Ahmed ball and was caught by Mohammad Wasim Jr.
The wickets kept falling and the outstanding effort by the Gladiators’ bowlers restricted Zalmi to 190 for six wickets, winning the match by 16 runs.
Earlier in the first innings, Jason Roy and Saud Shakeel wreaked havoc as they thrashed Zalmi’s bowler all over the ground and built a 157-run partnership.
Shakeel departed after scoring a brilliant 74 off 47, laced with ten boundaries, which included four sixes as well.
Gladiators’ skipper Rilee Rossouw joined the party and hit the six off the first ball, followed by a boundary two balls later, but Mohammad Zeeshan castled him in the next over to end his brief stay.
Roy was departed by Salman Irshad in the 18th over with 185 runs on the board after playing a clinical knock of 75 runs from 48 balls, featuring nine boundaries and two sixes.
Sherfane Rutherford played a 20-run cameo off 13 balls before getting out in the last over, followed by Mohammad Wasim who scored a boundary and departed on the next ball.
Khawaja Nafay (6) hit the last ball for four to lift the team’s total to 206 in their allocated 20 overs.
Irshad led the bowling charts for the Peshawar Zalmi with figures of 3-38, while Wood and Zeeshan contributed with one wicket each.
Meanwhile, Multan Sultans downed Karachi Kings in a convincing 55-run win in the third game of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9 at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Sultans’ bowlers were up to the task as they restricted Kings to 130/8 while defending a target of 186. Pacer Mohammad Ali bagged figures of 3/23 on his PSL debut. He dismissed Daniel Sams, Hasan Ali and Mir Hamza.
David Willey, who was appointed Mohammad Rizwan’s deputy of Sultans for PSL 9, took 2/23 while Abbas Afridi returned with figures of 2/16.
Spinner Usama Mir was economical in his spell, bagging figures of 1/14.
Veteran Shoaib Malik was the top performer for the Kings, scoring 54 runs off 35 balls. Skipper Shan Masood made 30 off 31 while West Indies’ power-hitter Kieron Pollard provided some resistance in the end to narrow the margin by scoring 28*.
Earlier, Dawid Malan and Reeza Hendricks scored brisk half-centuries to take the home side to 185/2.
Put into bat first, the Sultans registered a commendable total on the board, thanks to a marathon second-wicket partnership between Malan and Hendricks.
The home side, however, had a contrasting start to their innings as Mir Hamza trapped their skipper Mohammad Rizwan (11) lbw on the first delivery of the third over with just 17 runs on the board.
The Sultans were unfazed by the early blow as Hendricks joined Malan in the middle to give them a steady start.
The duo batted with great determination to keep the scoreboard ticking and registered half-centuries at a decent strike rate.
Their 121-run partnership finally ended in the 17th over when Dawid Malan misjudged Daniel Sams’ slower delivery and launched the ball straight to substitute fielder Irfan Khan at deep midwicket.
Malan smashed four boundaries and a six on his way to a 41-ball 52.
Hendricks, on the other hand, stood his ground firm and carried his bat all the way through with an unbeaten 79 off 54 deliveries, laced with seven boundaries and three sixes.
He was involved in yet another crucial partnership for the Sultans when he added 47 runs for the third wicket alongside Khushdil Shah, who played an important cameo at the backend.
Khushdil scored 28 off 13, hitting four boundaries, to help Hendricks bolster the Sultans’ total.
For the Kings, Mir Hamza and Daniel Sams each secured one wicket.
