Islamabad United on Tuesday defeated win-less Quetta Gladiators with six wickets in hand in the 12th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at Karachi National Stadium.
The United’s Paul Stirling hit an early half-century to build off the spells from Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf in the first innings that had restricted Quetta Gladiators from scoring.
The side chased an easy 157 run target on a pitch that has seen nearly 200 being chased as their openers performed well.
Stirling hit 56, Alex Hales 23, the young Rohail Nazir 34, and Shadab Khan hit 21.
The Gladiators‘ opening order collapsed in the power play,
However, skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed (54) and Mohammad Nawaz (31) led the way from then onwards which was not enough.
Islamabad bowlers played well; with Faheem Ashraf picking up three wickets and conceding only 11 runs; while Hasan Ali took two and Shadab Khan took one wicket.
The game has delayed yesterday after a player from Islamabad United, Fawad Ahmed, tested positive for coronavirus.
Quetta Gladiators haven’t had the start they wanted in the tournament; losing all three games initially; as they were first outplayed by the Karachi Kings before knocked out by Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi.
The writer is Freelancer, associated with Medical Profession ,working towards PhD in Healthcare Management.