In the 13th match of the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Islamabad United faced off against Quetta Gladiators at Karachi on Friday.
The match was dominated by Azam Khan’s explosive batting and Fazalhaq Farooqi’s exceptional bowling, leading Islamabad United to a 63-run victory over Quetta Gladiators.
Quetta Gladiators were chasing a mammoth total of 221 runs, but their innings was cleaned up for 157 in the last over. The Gladiators were three down for 26 runs, but veteran Mohammad Hafeez and captain Sarfaraz Ahmed showed some intent to go hard against the United’s bowlers.
However, Farooqi proved to be brilliant for the United, bagging three wickets including an important wicket of Hafeez. Hafeez was looking belligerent for his 26-ball 48, studded with six fours and two maximums.
Farooqi got rid of Hafeez, who was looking for a big hit, but found the fielder. Sarfaraz Ahmed went for a 36-ball 41, hitting three fours and one maximum. Iftikhar Ahmed also looked good for his 27-ball 39, hitting three boundaries and two towering sixes, while the rest of the batters failed to offer any significant resistance.
Jason Roy (5), Martin Guptill (0), Odean Smith (0), Naseem Shah (0), Aimal Khan (0), Mohammad Nawaz (1), and Mohammad Hasnain (1) failed to contribute big for their side. For the United, Farooqi (3-28) and Hasan Ali (3-38) bagged three wickets each. Abrar Ahmed (2-21) and Shadab Khan (2-24) bowled brilliantly and grabbed two wickets apiece.
After winning the toss, Islamabad United decided to bat first. Azam Khan’s blistering 42-ball 97 powered Quetta Gladiators to 220-6 against Islamabad United in the high-voltage clash of the premium tournament.
Despite losing Rahmanullah Gurbaz (8 off 8) and Rassie van der Dussen (1 off 4), Colin Munro tried to reconstruct the innings of the United when they were two down for 39. Munro scored 22-ball 38, studded with four sixes and a boundary. He was cleaned up by Aimal Khan. Mohammad Hasnain, who went on to be expensive in the death overs, was brilliant with the bowl in the first powerplay, getting rid of Gurbaz and Dussen.
The United were struggling when Azam Khan came to bat, but he was absolutely scintillating, clobbering nine boundaries and eight maximums. He needed three runs to score a ton, but was cleaned up by Oden Smith in the final delivery of the innings of the United. For Quetta Gladiators, Mohammad Hasnain scooped up two wickets but was expensive, conceding 52 runs.
Odean Smith also took two wickets, conceding 41 runs. Aimal Khan was hammered for 55 runs in his four overs, though he picked up a wicket. In terms of economy, Naseem Shah (1-32) was much better and bagged a wicket. Mohammad Nawaz (0-34) and Iftikhar Ahmed (0-4) were wicketless.
Islamabad United opted to bat first against Quetta Gladiators in the marquee tournament. They welcomed Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi, who was making his first appearance for the United. The United’s playing
