LAHORE – Quetta Gladiators beat Islamabad United by three wickets at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium in the eighth match of the Pakistan Super League 9 (PSL9) on Thursday.
Quetta Gladiators won the toss and decided to field first. Batting first, Islamabad United set a 138-run target for Quetta Gladiators in 20 overs at the loss of 9 wickets. Chasing the target, Quetta Gladiators achieved the required number of runs in 18.2 overs at the loss of seven wickets.
Rossow-led Quetta have started the PSL9 campaign on a positive note as they have won all three matches so far.
In the first fixture, the Purple Force scored 206 runs and easily defended it outclassing Babar Azam's Zalmi to 190 runs. Gladiators also achieved a historic win over red-hot Lahore Qalandars in their first-ever win against Afridi-led squad in the history of the flagship cricket league.
In the batting section, power hitters Jason Roy and Saud Shakeel remain the team's power houses while new talent Khawaja Nafay along with Mohammed Amir, Akeal Hossein, Waseem Jr. and Mohammad Hasnain also displayed A-game.
Islamabad United managed to clinch the opener but lost the subsequent two matches out of the three played so far. They first beat defending champions Qalandars but were not lucky against Multan Sultans and now Quetta Gladiators.
United however remained strong in their second game, chasing down a 145-run target on the second last ball.
In their third game, United were looking for a strong comeback against Quetta Gladiators.
The pitch at Gaddafi Stadium continues to help batters as power hitters who find it easy to rake in big numbers while bowlers struggle.
Quetta Gladiators vs Islamabad United Squad
Quetta Gladiators: Jason Roy, Saud Shakeel, Khawaja Nafay, Rilee Rossow (C), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sherfane Rutherford, Akeal Hosein, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Amir, Abrar Ahmed
Islamabad United: Colin Munro, Alex Hales, Agha Salman, Jordan Cox, Azam Khan (wk), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan (C), Faheem Ashraf, Ubaid Shah, Naseem Shah, Tymal Mills