KARACHI – Quetta Gladiators defeated Lahore Qalandars by seven wickets in the 15th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at Karachi’s National Stadium on Monday.
Chasing the 204-run target set by Lahore Qalandars, Quetta Gladiators batsmen achieved the target at the loss of just three wickets with three balls remaining. Jason Roy scored 116 runs off 57 balls, James Vince 49 off 38 balls and Mohammad Nawaz 25 off 12 balls.
Lahore Qalandars bowlers failed to impress in today’s game. Kamran Ghulam took one wicket for 15 runs, David Wiese one wicket for 26 runs and Haris Rauf one wicket for 48 runs.
Gladiators had won the toss and put Shaheen Shah Afridi’s side to bat first.
Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique built a strong opening stand by smashing 70 and 32 runs, respectively.
After the middle order could not maintain the momentum, Harry Brook made 41 runs off 17 balls, helping team to post a tough target for the rival team.
Today’s game is the last game of the first leg of PSL in Karachi with the action shifting to Punjab capital Lahore from February 10.
The match started at 07:30pm.
Sarfraz-led Gladiators are languishing at the second last position on the points table having lost three out of four games so far. They only managed to outclass Karachi Kings, which is standing at last but failed to impress in any other games.
#WeTheGladiators have got the explosivity in the batting unit with @JasonRoy20 sharpening his weapon in the nets! ⚡ 🔥#PurpleForce #AikBaarPhir pic.twitter.com/mL6sIQKtsw
— Quetta Gladiators (@TeamQuetta) February 6, 2022
Besides fielding, batters will also need to show their a-game as skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed suffered heat for ‘poor captaincy’. Today’s game will be crucial as they will have to put up an improved showing to have any chance of taking down the Qalandars who have been in the form under a young captain.
Afridi, 21, has been impressed so far with his leadership skills for Lahore Qalandars. Following a setback against Sultans, they bagged three consecutive matches and will be looking to register their fourth win in a row today.
With outstanding performance, Qalandars are on the second spot with 6 points after winning three of their four matches.
Meanwhile, the toss-winning team will be the first to field as seamer can be crucial in winning the last game of the first leg.
Squads
Quetta Gladiators: James Vince, Ahsan Ali, Ben Duckett, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Luke Wood, Mohammad Nawaz, Sohail Tanvir, James Faulkner, Naseem Shah, Abdul Bangalzai
Lahore Qalandars: Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Philip Salt (wk), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hafeez, Harry Brook, David Wiese, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi (c), Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan
Security, traffic plans chalked out for PSL 7 matches in Lahore
