Image Credit- PSL
In the Pakistan Super League, Quetta Gladiators won
their third straight match on Thursday by defeating Islamabad United by three
wickets, overcoming a late batting collapse.
With the use of spinners, Quetta broke down United’s batting line and held them
to 138 of 9, their lowest total of the season.
United took three late wickets off eight balls, pushing for an unexpected
victory. Sherfane Rutherford(29) was dismissed by Naseem Shah(23–34), Akeal
Hosein was out for a needless third run, and Mohammad Wasim(1) was bowled clean
by Shadab Khan (2–24) when he attempted a careless swipe at the Islamabad
captain.
Quetta reached 139-7 with 10 balls remaining as
captain Rilee Rossouw scored an undefeated 34 and Mohammad Amir shown great
bravery by smashing two boundaries.
With six points from three games, Quetta moved up to the top of the standings,
alongside Multan Sultans. Islamabad has two points after losing their last two
games.
Jason Roy gave the Gladiators a quick start in the powerplay, smashing 37 off
of 18 balls before reversing the PSL debut ball of fast bowler Hunain Shah onto
his stumps. Along with Naseem and Ubaid, Hunain is one of the three brothers
selected by Islamabad for this season.
After guiding the Gladiators for eight consecutive
seasons, Sarfaraz Ahmed was stripped of his captaincy. He managed to score just
one before Shadab trapped him leg before wicket, and Rutherford and Rossouw
then put up a stand of 62 runs.
Earlier, after being put in to bat, United struggled after dominating the first
seven overs at 69-1. Colin Munro (20), Alex Hales (21) and Salman Ali Agha
(33), who was bowled out by Amir early in his knock, all failed to convert
strong starts and gave away their wickets.
On a sluggish and dry surface, Abrar Ahmed (3–18) and
Hosein (2–32) destroyed Islamabad’s batting powerhouse, while Wasim (3–20) tore
through the lower order, taking wickets of Faheem Ashraf and Rumman Raees off
the final two balls of the innings.
After hitting Hosein for two consecutive sixes, Hales attempted an unnecessary
third big hit off the left-arm spinner but was caught at covers. Islamabad had
lost eight wickets for 69 runs in the final 13 overs when Munro and Agha both
misplayed huge drives and were caught in the deep.