LAHORE: 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.
Teams
Quetta Gladiators: Jason Roy, Saud Shakeel (vc), Khawaja Nafay, Rilee Rossouw (c), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sherfane Rutherford, Akeal Hosein, Muhammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Amir, Abrar Ahmed
Islamabad United: Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan (c), Azam Khan (wk), Jordan Cox, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Hunain Shah, Naseem Shah, Rumman Raees.
