Lahore Qalandars clinched victory in a nail-biting thriller against Islamabad United and won by one wicket. Umar Akmal’s stand at the crease made the victory possible after Qalandars lost early wickets in the 14th fixture of the Pakistan Super League.
Grant Elliott finished the match in style after hitting a six on a ball by Mohammad Sami, dropped the bat like a metaphorical mic and walked off the crease.
Qalandars were in sight of victory after stabilising their innings with a damaging knock by Akmal against Islamabad United.
Akmal made a quickfire 66 off 42 balls but finally succumbed to a leg before on a ball by Shadab Khan. His knock insured that Qalandars recovered from their early losses.
Qalandars were struggling against disciplined bowling by United, losing their top order chasing the target which seemed to be a daunting task after only making 29 runs during the powerplay.
Umar Akmal stood his ground on the crease making 32, but was disappointed by other batsmen who joined him. With the run-rate increasing with every over, Qalandars were looking to steady the innings and keep the scoreboard ticking.
Qalandars lost their openers early on against disciplined bowling by Islamabad United while chasing the target of 146.
Both openers, including skipper McCullum, were dismissed after playing false shots.
Qalandars will be chasing a target of 146 after United’s mostly shaky innings came to an end. United struggled for the majority of the match but made a comeback after being at a score of 86 for 6.
United innings
The top order for United collapsed under a concentrated attack by Lahore Qalandar and the team was in a sticky spot.
Shadab Khan fell at 42 after adding some much needed runs. He was run out eight runs shy of his half-century after hitting three sixes and and two fours.
Qalandar bowlers have struck with regular interval and have dismantled any budding partnership between the already shaken batsmen.
Skipper Misbah’s seems to be struggling in the format, and has yet to make a significant contribution on the scoreboard. Misbah scored 16 and was caught on a ball by Yamin, who seems to be out for blood.
The opening batsmen contributed 38 runs for United before returning to the pavilion. Smith fell leg before to Yasir Shah while Mohmand was caught on a ball by Yamin.
Teams:
Lahore Qalandars
Brendon McCullum (capt), Sunil Narine, Umar Akmal, Yasir Shah, Sohail Tanvir, Cameron Delport, Mohammad Rizwan, Azhar Ali, Zafar Gohar, Grant Elliot, Fakhar Zaman, Bilawal Bhatti, Ghulam Mudassar, Aamir Yamin, Usman Qadir, Saif Badar, Jason Roy, Chris Green, James Franklin, Muhammad Irfan
Islamabad United
Misbah Ul Haq (capt), Shane Watson, Mohammad Irfan, Samuel Badree, Mohammad Sami, Brad Haddin, Sam Billings, Hussain Talat, Amad Butt, Dwayne Smith, Zohaib Khan, Ben Duckett, Shadab Khan, Ruman Raees, Saeed Ajmal, Imran Khalid, Asif Ali, Syed Muzammil Shah, Steven Finn, Rafatullah