LAHORE: Fakhar Zaman’s sublime century powered Lahore Qalandars to a victory over Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 clash at Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday.
Chasing a stiff 199, Gladiaotrs fell short by nine runs, ending their innings on 188 for seven in 20 overs.
The chase started with a 49-run partnership between Saud Shakeel and Shamyl Hussain. The latter capitalized on the power play, bringing the team’s score to 49 in 5.4 overs before Sikandar Raza removed Saud. He was caught after scoring 17.
The wicket brought seasoned batter Rilee Rossouw to the fore, who counterattacked alongside Shamyl to keep the Gladiators in the hunt. Shamyl batted beautifully and notched his third half-century of the season.
However, he was back to the pavilion, courtesy of a run out in the ninth over of the innings. The soutpaw made 53 off 31, including three sixes and five fours.
Lahore were back in the game as Haris Rauf removed Hassan Nawaz for a duck in the same over, leaving Gladiators 88-3 in 9.5 overs. Despite the wickets, Rossouw continued to attack, keeping the required run rate in control.
He was joined by Khawaja Nafay (12) as Rossouw stitched a 40-run partnership with the South African batter doing the bulk of the scoring.
Quetta Gladiators were in control until Rilee Rossouw’s dismissal on the ball of the 14th over. The left-hander had accumulated 21 runs from Ubaid Shah’s over before getting caught. He remained top-scorer, striking five sixes and five fours in his 62 from just 29 balls.
His wicket sealed the deal for the defending champions as Abrar Ahmed remained unbeaten on 24 from 14, which reduced the margin of defeat for Gladiators.
For Lahore Qalandars, Haris Rauf took two wickets in his quota of four overs.
With this loss, the chances of Quetta Gladiators are now slim as they now sit on six points with only one game left.
Earlier, Fakhar Zaman smashed a blistering century to propel Lahore Qalandars to an imposing 197-6 against Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 clash at Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday.
The left-handed opener dominated proceedings with a blistering 103 off 51 deliveries, marking his third century in the league and laying the foundation for Qalandars’ massive total.
Qalandars endured an early setback when Mohammad Farooq departed for just four in the second over. Fakhar, however, quickly took control and stitched a 57-run stand with Abdullah Shafique, contributing the bulk of the runs before Shafique was dismissed for 14 by Abrar Ahmed.
Fakhar then found an able partner in Charith Asalanka as the duo added 96 runs for the third wicket. The aggressive opener continued to dictate terms, reaching his century during the partnership while keeping the Gladiators’ bowlers under constant pressure.
The stand was eventually broken by Brett Hampton, who removed Asalanka for 31 off 24 balls, leaving the score at 160-3 in 15.3 overs.
Fakhar’s innings soon ended in the following over, but not before he had struck 11 fours and six sixes in a match-defining knock.
Late contribution from Daniel Sams, who remained unbeaten on 18 off 12 deliveries, ensured Qalandars finished strongly at 197-6 in their allotted 20 overs.
For the Gladiators, Khalil Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets, while Abrar Ahmed, Hampton and Usman Tariq chipped in with one apiece.
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