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The Quetta Gladiators continue their winning run in the competition. The PSL carnival continues tomorrow with Islamabad United taking on Karachi Kings. Like always, it was a pleasure bringing all the live updates of the match. Till the next time, this is me, Arya Sekhar Chakraborty signing off. Good night! Cheers!!
Shaheen Afridi (Lahore Qalandars captain): A big thank you to the Lahore crowd. I thought there was a partnership needed. I thought to promote myself and play according to the merit of each delivery. I think we cannot say that we are batting very well. As a team, we have to keep supporting each other. Rashid and Raza proved that even if the top order doesn’t score much, the lower order will contribute. The message was to bowl just normal lengths. There was no point in following each other, it was all about sticking to your strengths.
Sikandar Raza (Player of the Match): My plan was pretty clear, I tried to go hard. There was no point in reaching 110 as that wouldn’t have been a winning total. We eventually managed to get 148 which I thought was 10 runs short. NMe and Rashid agreed that basically we would hit a boundary every over. Initially we didn’t found the boundaries but in one over we found twice or thrice. I said that yesterday I was saying to Rashid that everytime we batted we had a good partnership. We run well and we both are pretty innovative. Once that happens, it turned the game for us. I thought the wicket was slightly variable so it made life a lot harder. Even the 1st innings the ball was keeping low. Credit to Shaheen, Fakhar and Rashid.
Sarfaraz Ahmed (Quetta Gladiators captain): We made a lot of mistakes. We bowled very well earlier but bowled poorly towards the end. From 50/7, we shouldn’t have allowed them to 148. They have a great bowling attack but our batting wasn’t really great in the middle overs. There was a time when we scored just 10 runs in 5 overs. When the wicket keeps falling, you cannot really claw their way back into the game. Even today, we didn’t have scope for any mistakes but we did. Hopefully, it will be better in the next match.
Aqib Javed (Lahore Qalandars head coach): My god, that was Qalandars does. Brings something out of the hat. They have made my life really easy. This was our best win. Look bowling always wins you the tournament. Nobody has so many top-class bowlers in a franchise. Definitely, Sikandar Raza (on who brought them back into the game), he brought us back from nowhere. He is a brave man with a lot of skills. If you have Rashid and Sikandar it’s a blessing for us. Lahore is Lahore. Look at the crowd, look at the backing. Qalandars doesn’t want to lose here.
Lahore Qalandars won by 17 runs
Lahore Qalandars 148 all-out in 19.2 overs Sikandar Raza 71*(34) | Mohammad Nawaz 2/19(3)
Quetta Gladiators 131/7 in 20 overs Will Smeed 32(25) | Haris Rauf 3/22(4)
A top-class bowling effort from the Lahore Qalandars as they successfully defends a below-par score of 148 and did that quite comfortably in the end. They continue the winning run while Quetta Gladiators seems to be off the hook at the moment.
They bossed the game for the first 13 overs but it was Sikandar Raza's knock that turned the course of the game and Quetta could never really overcome from the onslaught.
It wasn’t really a huge target to chase but Quetta knew they had to get off to a good start which was missing out on the last few games. The start was exactly what the doctor ordered the Gladiators.
Will Smeed and Yasir Khan came out with positive intent and scored at a brisk rate in the first 5 overs. A 53-run partnership came inside the 6th over before Yasir gave it away, nicking a length delivery from Haris straight to the keeper.
It was just the start of a mini-collapse of sorts as the Gladiators could never really recover from that wicket. Smeed batted well for his 32 but the magic man Rashid Khan bamboozled him with a good delivery. Lahore kept chipping away with the wickets as the required rate kept climbing.
Martin Guptill, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Mohammad Hafeez gave their wickets away pretty cheaply. Sarfaraz Ahmed again struggled to time the ball and failed to find the boundaries when his team needed him the most.
It put undue pressure on the rest of the batters and eventually the required rate became too steep. The Qalandars bowlers stuck with their plan and executed that pretty well, eventually winning the game by 17 runs.
20
overs
131/7score
0
1
0
6
0
0
runs
Umaid Asif*
11(6)
Sarfaraz Ahmed
27(28)
Zaman Khan
0/28
19.6 Zaman Khan to Umaid Asif, Lahore Qalandars win. On a length around off and that has been inside edged straight back to the bowler. A run out call but Umaid made his ground.
19.5 Zaman Khan to Umaid Asif, banged in short by Zaman and Umaid sways away from that and lets that go through to the keeper.
19.4 Zaman Khan to Umaid Asif, SIX! That has been smoked down the ground for a maximum but its too little too late for Quetta. Slams this length delivery on middle well over the long-on fence.
19.3 Zaman Khan to Umaid Asif, slower delivery on a length a shade outside off, Asif goes for a wild heave across the line, gets beaten.
19.2 Zaman Khan to Sarfaraz Ahmed, a mistimed pull from Sarfaraz down towards the midwicket region and rolls the strike over. Casual running as he knows that the fate of the game is sealed.
19.1 Zaman Khan to Sarfaraz Ahmed, a pin point yorker, reversing into Sarfaraz and thuds onto his boots. That would have been out in all likelihood had Shaheen gone for the review. Billings looked interested there but couldn't quite convince Shaheen.
Zaman Khan is back into the attack for the final over.
19
overs
124/7score
1
1
1wd
W
1
1
4
runs
Umaid Asif*
5(2)
Sarfaraz Ahmed
26(26)
Haris Rauf
3/22
18.6 Haris Rauf to Umaid Asif, FOUR! Nice finish to the over for Quetta but this could be too little too late. Slower delivery on a length around middle, Asif hoicks it across the line and gets it from the inside half of the bat down towards the vacant deep backward square leg region.
18.5 Haris Rauf to Sarfaraz Ahmed, slower delivery on the surface again, well outside off and Sarfaraz with an aerial pull down towards the widish long-on fielder only for a single.
18.4 Haris Rauf to Umaid Asif, an attempted yorker coming out as a low full toss. Worked away towards the midwicket region by Asif for a single.
Umaid Asif, RHB is the new man in.
18.3 Haris Rauf to Mohammad Nawaz, WICKET! Furniture removed from Haris. Dismantled, dislodged, you can use many superlatives but it has been a superb effort from Haris. A pace off delivery, the off-cutter on the surface and Nawaz was way too early in the shot. Swipes across the line only to see his middle stump getting rattled. This could be the final nail in the coffin for Quetta.