Lahore Qalandars defeats Quetta Gladiators by 17 runs

Sikandar Raza’s scintillating 34-ball 71 and bowlers’ brilliance stormed Lahore Qalandars to 17-run victory in low-scoring game in the 18th match of the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at Qaddafi Stadium on Thursday.

Sikandar Raza’s scintillating 34-ball 71 and bowlers’ brilliance stormed Lahore Qalandars to 17-run victory in low-scoring game in the 18th match of the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at Qaddafi Stadium on Thursday. Sikandar Raza’s quickfire unbeaten 34-ball 71 powered Lahore Qalandars to 149-run target against Quetta Gladiators.

Qalandars were bundled out for 148 in the 20th over. At one stage, Qalandars were seven down for 50, but it was merely Sikandar Raza’s brilliance as he spearheaded the Qalandars’ batting lineup. In his unbeaten knock, Sikandar smacked eight boundaries and three towering sixers. With the exception of Sikandar, only three batters, Abdullah Shafique (15 off 14), Shaheen Shah Afridi (16 off 16) and Rashid Khan (21 off 20) could reach double figure.

While the rest of the Qalandars’ batters including Sam Billings (2), Hussain Talat (6), David Wiese (2), Haris Rauf (0) and Zaman Khan (0) failed to show any significant resistance against the Gladiators’ bowlers. Gladiators’ bowlers were exceptional, particularly at the early stage of the match. Naveen (2-36) and Nawaz (2-19) bagged two wickets apiece. Naseem Shah (1-29), Umaid Asif (1-33) and Odean Smith (1-27) took a scalp each. Mohammad Hafeez, was only given one over to bowl despite just conceding only three runs.

Quetta Gladiators opted to field first against Lahore Qalandars in the domestic premium tournament. In the last five encounters, Qalandars won on three and Gladiators on two occasions. Gladiators made three changes in their squad, while the Qalandars were unchanged.