Quetta Gladiators beat Islamabad United by three wickets in the eighth match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season nine. While chasing the target of 145, Gladiators had to toil hard to reach the finish line. On the back of skipper Rilee Rossouw’s 34*, they chased down the total in the 19th over.
The Gladiators are one of only two teams to have three victories against the Multan Sultans after this one. It was their third victory overall. Jason Roy had an outstanding opening performance to the chase, scoring 37 runs off of 18 balls at an astounding strike rate of 205.55. Naseem Shah removed Saud Shakeel, Roy’s partner, earlier today in the second over. Rumman Raees dismissed Khawaja Nafay after he scored nine runs off of nine balls.
Quetta Gladiators beat Islamabad United by three wickets
The squad suffered early losses, but captain Rilee Rossouw showed tenacity by going on to finish the innings undefeated with 34 runs off 38 balls while keeping a consistent strike rate of 89.47. Sarfaraz Ahmed, who scored just one run off of six balls, was given out by Shadab Khan, causing further setbacks for the side.
Sherfane Rutherford was crucial, making 29 runs off of 23 balls, but Naseem Shah eventually claimed his life. Despite an unfortunate run-out, Akeal Hosein scored eight runs off of just two balls at a remarkable strike rate of 400.00. Muhammad Amir and Muhammad Wasim both contributed a few runs to the total, with Amir scoring an incredible 11 runs off of just six balls to go undefeated.
Naseem and Shadab each got two wickets for United, while Hunain and Rumman both claimed one wicket. Earlier, after being selected to bat first, the powerful British batting team managed to reach 138/9 in the allotted 20 overs. With two straight sixes from Akeal Hosein in the third over, the two-time champions got off to a great start in their innings.
But with the following delivery, the spinner took revenge and removed him. Hales finished his short innings with a nine-ball twenty-one, including a boundary. Following the initial blow, Salman Ali Agha teamed up with Colin Munro, whose 40 runs together steadied the innings.
