Quetta Gladiators Monday thrashed Lahore Qalandars by 5 wickets (with 5 balls remaining) in the fourth match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) season nine at Qaddafi Stadium Lahore, reported the 24NewsHD TV channel.
The star of the match was emerging batter Khawaja Nafay, whose unbeaten 60-run innings steered Quetta Gladiators to their second consecutive victory in the tournament, while dealing Lahore Qalandars their second successive loss. Khawaja Nafay and Shaud Shakeel propelled Quetta Gladiators to achieve the target of 188-run set by Lahore Qalandars.
Quetta Gladiators’ chase was bolstered by a solid opening partnership between Jason Roy and Saud Shakeel, laying the foundation with a crucial 69-run stand. Although Shakeel contributed a brisk 40 runs off 23 balls, it was Nafay who took charge of the chase, showcasing remarkable strokeplay with four boundaries and three sixes.
Despite notable contributions from Roy, Captain Rilee Rossouw, and Sarfaraz Ahmed, Quetta Gladiators faced stiff competition from Lahore Qalandars’ bowlers. However, Nafay’s resilience and determination ultimately guided his team to victory.
Earlier, Sahibzada Farhan’s anchoring fifty, followed by Jahandad Khan’s blistering knock lifted Lahore Qalandars to 187/7 in 20 overs.
Put into bat first, the Qalandars managed to register a formidable total on the board despite a dismal start.
The hosts suffered an early blow to their batting charge when Akeal Hosein dismissed Fakhar Zaman (6) on the first delivery of the third over with just nine runs on the board.
Rassie van der Dussen then joined forces with Farhan and launched recovery. The duo put together an anchoring 53 runs for the second wicket before Abrar Ahmed brought an end to van der Dussen’s scratchy 15-run knock to end by cleaning him in the ninth over.
Farhan then knitted a one-sided partnership with Abdullah Shafique and brought up his second-consecutive PSL 9 half-century in the process.He smashed six boundaries and three sixes on his way to a 43-ball 62 and finally walked back in the 13th over after falling victim to Mohammad Hasnain.
The Qalandars sustained another blow to their innings, just two balls later, when Hosein returned to provide another breakthrough to the Gladiators by getting Shafique (11) caught behind.
But Jahandad Khan took the reigns of Qalandars’ batting expedition and bolstered their total with a sensational knock which featured three boundaries and four sixes, three out of which came against Abrar in the 16th over.
He carried his bat all the way through with an unbeaten 45 off just 17 deliveries.
Besides him, Sikandar Raza (18) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (12) also made notable contributions at the death with brisk cameos.
Hasnain and Hosein bagged two wickets each for the Gladiators while Abrar, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Wasim Jr made one scalp each.
Lahore Qalandars's skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi won the toss and elected to bat against Quetta Gladiators.
Teams
Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Abdullah Shafique, Sikandar Raza, Salman Fayyaz, Carlos Brathwaite, Jahandad Khan, Shaheen Afridi (c), Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan
Quetta Gladiators: Jason Roy, Saud Shakeel (vc), Khawaja Nafay, Rilee Rossouw (c), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sherfane Rutherford, Akeal Hosein, Muhammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Amir, Abrar Ahmed