After being put in to bat first, the Islamabad United on Saturday set a 158-run target for Quetta Gladiators in the 23rd match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.
Put into bat first, the defending champions accumulated 157/9 in their allotted 20 overs.
The holders, however, had a contrasting start to their innings as their new opening pair of Sahibzada Farhan and Kyle Mayers laid a solid foundation by putting together a brisk 58-run partnership.
The opening stand culminated in the sixth over when Abrar Ahmed gave Gladiators a much-needed breakthrough by cleaning up Mayers, who scored 22 off 17 deliveries with the help of three fours and a six.
Faheem then inflicted two more blows to the United’s batting expedition as he removed Colin Munro (nine) and stand-in captain Salman Ali Agha (zero) in his first over.
United suffered another massive blow when set batter Sahibzada Farhan fell victim to Gladiators captain Saud Shakeel.
He remained the top-scorer for the United with a 24-ball 39, laced with two fours and four sixes.
With United reeling at 77/4 in 9.5 overs, Mohammad Nawaz and Andries Gous attempted to anchor the innings but could only put together 14 runs as Faheem made a twin strike again, dismissing the wicketkeeper batter and Muhammad Shahzad.
The back-to-back blows had further reduced the United to 91/6 in 13 overs.
Following the slump, Haider Ali joined Mohammad Nawaz in the middle and together they raised a valiant 39-run partnership for the seventh wicket.
Nawaz was the core aggressor of the stand, while Haider played a supportive role with his eight-ball 10 until falling victim to Khurram Shahzad in the 18th over.
The left-handed batter, on the other hand, fell victim to Kyle Jamieson in the final over after top-scoring for the United with a 34-ball 49, comprised of one four and five sixes.
He was also involved in a crucial 26-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Jason Holder, who made
Faheem Ashraf was the standout bowler for the Gladiators, taking four wickets for just 25 runs in his three overs. He was supported by Khurram, Abrar, Saud and Jamieson, who made one scalp apiece.
