KARACHI: Azam Khan wreaked havoc with a quickfire 97-run knock earlier than bowlers led Islamabad United to a dominating 63-run victory over Quetta Gladiators within the 13th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.
Set to chase a mammoth 221, the Gladiators might solely rating 157 earlier than being bundled out within the ultimate over after a short retaliation by Mohammad Hafeez.
The Gladiators had a poor begin to their pursuit because the aspect misplaced three wickets for a mere 26 runs within the fourth over with all their top-three batters falling cheaply.
Following the stoop, Hafeez alongside skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed regarded to anchor the run chase with a vital 69-run partnership for the third wicket and stored the Gladiators within the hunt.
Left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi rocked Gladiators’ march within the 11th over when he dismissed Hafeez off a full-toss. Hafeez scored a fast 48 off 26 deliveries, hitting six boundaries and two sixes.
Following Hafeez’s dismissal, Sarfaraz stitched a cautious 32-run partnership with Iftikhar Ahmed earlier than the previous lastly perished within the 16th over. He scored 41 off 36.
Sarfaraz’s dismissal triggered a match-defining collapse within the Gladiators’ batting lineup, which finally bundled out within the ultimate over with their notable run-getter Iftikhar additionally strolling again to the pavilion within the 19th.
Iftikhar might rating 39 off 27 deliveries with the assistance of three boundaries and two sixes.
Farooqi and Hasan Ali picked up three wickets every for the United whereas Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan made twin strikes apiece.
Opting to bat first, the United posted a large 220/6 in the back of an astounding 97-run knock by Azam regardless of a dismal begin.
Earlier, the United bought off to an unlikely begin because the aspect was 4 down for 71 runs inside 10 overs earlier than Azam turned issues round together with his belligerent hitting.
With the aspect at 77/four within the first 10 overs, Azam stitched a match-defining partnership with Asif Ali and launched a counterattack on the Gladiators’ bowlers.
The pair added brisk 98 runs in simply 45 deliveries with Azam being the core aggressor of the game-changing spell.
Naseem then lastly managed to interrupt the partnership within the 18th over when he dismissed Asif, who scored 42 off simply 24 deliveries with the assistance of a boundary and 4 sixes.
Asif’s dismissal didn’t hassle Azam’s approach as he stored on charging on the Gladiators’ bowlers amid his transient but efficient partnership with Faheem Ashraf, who remained unbeaten on 17 off simply six.
After all the beating, Odean Smith lastly cleaned up Azam on the ultimate supply of the innings and barred him from scoring his century.
Azam top-scored for the United with 97 off a mere 42 deliveries and smashed 9 boundaries and eight sixes.
Mohammad Hasnain and Odean Smith bagged two wickets every for the Gladiators whereas Naseem and Aimal Khan struck out a batter every.