Heavy rain and thunderstorms forced the abandonment of the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) 11 seventh match between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, without a single ball being bowled.
The downpour began just minutes before the toss, originally scheduled to be held at 6:30pm as per the local time, and got heavier with time.
Although the ground staff swiftly covered the ground at the time of the downpour, and later worked tirelessly to dry the field, their efforts remained insufficient as the fixture was called off 30 minutes before the official cut-off time for a five-over match, resulting in both teams sharing a point apiece.
The abandonment of today’s fixture bolstered Zalmi’s points tally to three in two matches, while the three-time champions United received their first.
The 2017 champions, as a result, climbed up to the second position, pushing down Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans, respectively, while the United jumped to the sixth spot, pipping RawalPindiz, who are yet to taste triumph.
Zalmi’s next PSL 11 match is scheduled to be played on April 8 when they take on tournament debutants Hyderabad Kingsmen in Karachi, while the United will lock horns with the Gladiators on April 4 at the same venue.
Squads
Islamabad United: Shadab Khan (c), Salman Irshad, Andries Gous, Devon Conway, Faheem Ashraf, Mehran Mumtaz, Mark Chapman, Nisar Ahmed, Mir Hamza Sajjad, Sameen Gul, Sameer Minhas, Imad Wasim, Richard Gleeson, Haider Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Dipendra Singh Airee, Mohammad Faiq, Mohsin Riaz, Chris Green and Mohammad Salman Mirza.
Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam (c), Sufiyan Muqeem, Abdul Samad, Ali Raza, Aaron Hardie, Aamir Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Haris, Khalid Usman, Abdul Subhan, Tanzid Hasan, Michael Bracewell, Kusal Mendis, Iftikhar Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Kashif Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani, Farhan Yousuf, Brian Bennett, Mohammad Basit and Shoriful Islam.
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Karachi Kings beat Lahore Qalandars by four wickets in a low-scoring thriller of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.
A collective bowling effort, followed by Muhammad Waseem’s sensible knock, helped Kings beat defending champions Qalandars.
Set to chase a modest 129-run target on a tricky surface, the 2020 champions knocked the winning runs for the loss of six wickets and three balls to spare.
The Kings got off to a dismal start to the pursuit as they lost their captain, David Warner (eight) and top-order batter Salman Ali Agha (zero) in the third over, bowled by Shaheen Shah Afridi, with just 10 runs on the board.
Experienced opener Muhammad Waseem then took the reins of the Kings’ pursuit and shared two crucial partnerships with youngster Saad Baig (19) and Moeen Ali, until eventually falling victim to Shaheen in the 15th over.
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Saud Shakeel-led Quetta Gladiators claimed their first Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 triumph as they defeated Hyderabad Kingsmen by 40 runs at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing 175, Kingsmen were restricted to 134-8 in their allotted 20 overs, courtesy of an exceptional bowling performance by Gladiators’ bowling attack.
Saim Ayub was the first to fall after smashing back-to-back fours in the opening over. He scored eight off four deliveries before being undone by a sharp, unplayable bouncer from Alzarri Joseph.
In the following over, second opener Maaz Sadaqat was dismissed for a second-ball duck by Abrar Ahmed, leaving the side reeling at 17-2 in 1.2 overs.
Kingsmen failed to build momentum and lost their third wicket inside the powerplay as Abrar struck again, dismissing Usman Khan cheaply for 14 off 18 balls, including two fours.
Saad Ali and Marnus Labuschagne then attempted to stabilise the innings, adding crucial runs to take the total past the 50-run mark.
However, Usman Tariq made an immediate impact in his first over, removing Saad Ali for seven off 12 deliveries as Kingsmen slipped to 51-4 in nine overs.
Skipper Saud then chipped in with the ball and struck in his first over, claiming the key wicket of Marnus Labuschagne, who scored 23 off 21 balls, including three fours, reducing Kingsmen to 57-5 in 9.4 overs.
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A late blitz from Moeen Ali and a four-wicket haul by Hasan Ali powered Karachi Kings to a narrow 14-run victory over Quetta Gladiators in their campaign opener of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Friday.
Set to chase a daunting 182-run target, the previous edition’s runners-up could amass 167/7 in their 20 overs despite a quickfire half-century by Shamyl Hussain up the order.
The Gladiators got off to a flamboyant start to the pursuit as their opening pair of Hussain and captain Saud Shakeel raised 79 runs in just seven overs before Salman Ali Agha got rid of the former.
Hussain remained the top-scorer for the Gladiators with a blazing 52 off 24 deliveries, laced with five fours and four sixes.Following his dismissal, the Gladiators lost two more wickets in the next two overs as Khawaja Nafay (three) and Shakeel were dismissed by Adam Zampa and Moeen, respectively.
Shakeel remained a notable run-getter for the Gladiators, scoring an anchoring 33 off 25 deliveries with the help of six fours.
Following the consecutive setbacks, Rilee Rossouw (25) and Hasan Nawaz attempted to launch a recovery by putting together a cautious 29-run partnership for the fourth wicket, which culminated with the former’s dismissal on the first delivery of the 16th over.
Nawaz, on the other hand, eventually fell victim to Hasan Ali in the penultimate over and headed back to the pavilion after playing a scratchy 19-run knock from 24 deliveries.
Hasan struck twice more in the same over, dismissing Tom Curran and Ahmed Daniyal, respectively, to put the 2020 champions in control.
Although Ben McDermott remained unbeaten with a brisk 24-run cameo, his efforts remained insufficient to steer the Gladiators over the line.
Hasan was the pick of the bowlers for the Kings, taking four wickets for just 27 runs in his four overs, while Zampa, Moeen and Agha chipped in with one scalp apiece.
Moeen was declared Player of the Match.
Put into bat first, the Kings racked up 181/7 in their 20 overs despite none of their batters scoring a half-century.
The 2020 champions got off to a shaky start to their innings as their right-handed opener Muhammad Waseem perished for a three-ball duck as he fell victim to Alzarri Joseph in the first over, with just three runs on the board.
Following the early setback, Salman Ali Agha joined skipper David Warner in the middle for a 41-run partnership for the second wicket until getting trapped lbw by Daniyal in the fourth over.
Agha made 22 off 10 deliveries, hitting four fours and a six.
Warner was then involved in another crucial partnership for the Kings when he put together 43 runs for the third wicket with Saad Baig before both perished in quick succession and brought the total down to 100/4 in 10.3 overs.
The skipper made an anchoring 35 off 22 deliveries, laced with four fours and a six, while Saad contributed with a 23-ball 30, featuring six fours.
Karachi Kings then suffered another setback in the 14th over when Azam Khan was cleaned up by Usman Tariq and walked back after making a run-a-ball 14.
After a brief middle-order collapse, experienced all-rounder Moeen took the reins of the Kings’ batting expedition and stitched an important 39-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Khushdil Shah, who made an eight-ball 12 before being dismissed by Daniyal in the 17th over.
Moeen, on the other hand, batted until the end and returned after top-scoring with an unbeaten 48 off 29 deliveries, studded with four fours and three sixes.
Daniyal spearheaded the Gladiators’ bowling charge with three wickets for 36 runs in his four overs, followed by Alzarri Joseph with two, while Usman Tariq and Abrar Ahmed made one scalp apiece.
