Quetta Gladiators beat Lahore Qalandars by 18 runs yesterday in their Pakistan Super League (PSL) match at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The Gladiators were able to defend their 159-run target due to a spectacular show put up by their pace attack. Gladiators’ bowlers gave little breathing space to the Qalandars, with Usman Khan Shinwari giving the team their first breakthrough, dismissing Sohail Akhtar (0) in the first over, while Mohamed Hasnain picked up the wicket of Fakhar Zaman (12) in the fourth over.
Shinwari, in the fifth over, piled up the pressure on Qalandars, sending Mohamed Hafeez (1) back to the pavilion, while Khurram Shahzad took the wicket of Zeeshan Ashraf (16) in the sixth over.Following in his teammates’ footsteps, Mohamed Nawaz took the important wickets of Ben Dunk (6) and Rashid Khan in the seventh and ninth overs, respectively.
In the 12th over, Shahzad dismissed Ahmed Daniyal (3), while Shinwari got the key wicket of Tim David (46).
Shaheen Shah Afridi, who scored 12 runs, was dismissed by Shahzad in the 17th over, while Hasnain sent Haris Rauf (19) back to the pavilion in the 18th over to end the match and take the Gladiators to victory.
Earlier a struggling Quetta Gladiators set a 159-run target for Lahore Qalandars.
The Qalandars’ bowlers performed well, with James Faulkner taking three wickets, while Mohamed Hafeez and Rashid Khan picked up a wicket each. Azam Khan (33) was hitting some good shots — and it seemed like he would give the Gladiators a much-needed breakthrough — but he was dismissed by Faulkner, while Mohamed Nawaz (6) was also sent packing in the same over.
Jake Weatherald (48) helped the team put up some runs on the scoreboard, before Mohamed Hafeez got the better of him, bowling him out in the 10th over. The Qalandars got the first breakthrough as James Faulkner took the wicket of Usman Khan (0), while Rashid Khan picked up the second wicket of Cameron Delport (10) in the eighth over.

BRIEF SCORES
Quetta Gladiators 158 for 5 (Weatherald 48, Sarfaraz 34*, Faulkner 3-25) beat Lahore Qalandars 140 (David 46, Shahzad 3-14, Shinwari 3-32) by 18 runs
(Agencies)