PSL 9: Lahore Qalandars get first taste of victory after defeating Islamabad United

Zaman Khan’s four-wicket haul and  Rassie  Dussen’s gutsy half-century powered Lahore Qalandars to have first victory of PSL 9 after defeating Islamabad United by 17 runs 

at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, reported the 24NewsHD TV channel. 

After playing eight games, Lahore Qalandars secured first triumph of the event. However, two-time champions Lahore Qalandars have officially been knocked out of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9 Playoffs race.

 Chasing a target of 163-run, Islamabad United secured 145 runs for all out in 18.5 overs.  Faheem Ashraf, Azam Khan and Naseem Shah made their best efforts to bring their team home but all in vain.  

Lahore had an upper hand over United with constant dismissals while defending a 163-run target.

The early stages of the innings witnessed a rapid succession of wickets as Shadab Khan's side found themselves facing a challenging situation.

The first blow came in the first over with Shaheen Afridi removing Alex Hales (0). Agha Salman followed suit shortly adding only 4 runs on the bowling of Zaman Khan.

The batting side continued to struggle as Shadab (7) was clean bowled by a perfect yorker. The woes persisted with the quick dismissals of Colin Munro (15), Imad Wasim (7), and Jordan Cox (7), leaving the team in a precarious position with multiple key players back in the pavilion.

Azam Khan and Faheem Ashraf tried to shape comeback with a 35-run partnership. Despite dismissal of Azam (29), Naseem Shah played a cameo to keep two-time champions in contention.

Naseem scored a 16-ball 27 before being bowled by Shaheen Afridi, who completed his 100 PSL wickets.

Faheem put Qalandars on the back foot until Zaman dismissed Rumman Raees to end United innings.

The left-hander remained unbeaten on 31-ball 41 with the help of five boundaries.

Zaman finished with figures of 4/37 while Shaheen bagged 2/32.

Earlier, 

Islamabad United restricted the defending champions to 162 runs for the loss of seven wickets.  

Lahore Qalandars despite being asked to bat first, struggled to put up a competitive total in the match, even though Rassie Dussen managed to score a half-century.