Tag: PSL 8

KARACHI: Quetta Gladiators’ bowling coach Umar Gul has expressed hope for his team’s comeback in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.

The Gladiators, who succumbed to their fourth defeat of the ongoing season following a crushing 63-run defeat against Islamabad United on Friday have sunk to the bottom of the points table with only two points in five matches.

The 2019 champions now need to win all their remaining five matches to make a case for themselves to make it to the playoffs.

Meanwhile, amid his side’s dismal campaign in the ongoing PSL 8, bowling coach Gul is still optimistic about his side’s comeback.

“We are too disappointed with this performance,” said Gul in the post-match press conference at National Bank Cricket Arena.

“I think we are still very much in the tournament. We still have a complete chance to make a comeback from here,” he added.

“We have told players that still five matches are left. If we play according to our strength, we will be in the tournament,” he maintained.

Gul then also praised wicketkeeper batter Azam Khan’s astounding 97-run knock against the Gladiators which lifted the United to post a mammoth 220/6 which eventually was too much for the Gladiators.

“Azam played really well and took the match away from us. We made mistakes in all departments. I know we could have done better,” said Gul.

It is pertinent to mention that the Gladiators next face defending champions Lahore Qalandars on March 2 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

READ: Sri Lanka names Test squad for New Zealand tour

KARACHI: Azam Khan wreaked havoc with a quickfire 97-run knock before bowlers led Islamabad United to a dominating 63-run victory over Quetta Gladiators in the 13th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.

Set to chase a mammoth 221, the Gladiators could only score 157 before being bundled out in the final over after a brief retaliation by Mohammad Hafeez.

The Gladiators had a poor start to their pursuit as the side lost three wickets for a mere 26 runs in the fourth over with all their top-three batters falling cheaply.

Following the slump, Hafeez alongside skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed looked to anchor the run chase with a crucial 69-run partnership for the third wicket and kept the Gladiators in the hunt.

Left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi rocked Gladiators’ march in the 11th over when he dismissed Hafeez off a full-toss. Hafeez scored a quick 48 off 26 deliveries, hitting six boundaries and two sixes.

Following Hafeez’s dismissal, Sarfaraz stitched a cautious 32-run partnership with Iftikhar Ahmed before the former finally perished in the 16th over. He scored 41 off 36.

Sarfaraz’s dismissal triggered a match-defining collapse in the Gladiators’ batting lineup, which eventually bundled out in the final over with their notable run-getter Iftikhar also walking back to the pavilion in the 19th.

Iftikhar could score 39 off 27 deliveries with the help of three boundaries and two sixes.

Farooqi and Hasan Ali picked up three wickets each for the United while Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan made twin strikes apiece.

Opting to bat first, the United posted a massive 220/6 at the back of an astounding 97-run knock by Azam despite a dismal start.

Earlier, the United got off to an unlikely start as the side was four down for 71 runs inside 10 overs before Azam turned things around with his belligerent hitting.

With the side at 77/4 in the first 10 overs, Azam stitched a match-defining partnership with Asif Ali and launched a counterattack on the Gladiators’ bowlers.

The pair added brisk 98 runs in just 45 deliveries with Azam being the core aggressor of the game-changing spell.

Naseem then finally managed to break the partnership in the 18th over when he dismissed Asif, who scored 42 off just 24 deliveries with the help of a boundary and four sixes.

Asif’s dismissal did not bother Azam’s approach as he kept on charging on the Gladiators’ bowlers amid his brief yet effective partnership with Faheem Ashraf, who remained unbeaten on 17 off just six.

After all the thrashing, Odean Smith finally cleaned up Azam on the final delivery of the innings and barred him from scoring his century.

Azam top-scored for the United with 97 off a mere 42 deliveries and smashed nine boundaries and eight sixes.

Mohammad Hasnain and Odean Smith bagged two wickets each for the Gladiators while Naseem and Aimal Khan struck out a batter each.

KARACHI: Islamabad United have won the toss and elected to bat first against Quetta Gladiators in the 13th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.

PLAYING XIs

Quetta Gladiators: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Jason Roy, Will Smeed, Martin Guptill, Iftikhar Ahmed, Odean Smith, Muhammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Aimal Khan, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain

Islamabad United: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Colin Munro, Rassie van der Dussen, Shadab Khan (c), Azam Khan, Asif Ali, Mubasir Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Fazalhaq Farooqi

HEAD TO HEAD

Matches 15, Quetta Gladiators 8, Islamabad United 7

KARACHI: Quetta Gladiators’ players paid a visit to the young cancer patients here ahead of their Pakistan Super League (PSL) fixture against Islamabad United on Friday.

According to the details, Gladiators’ captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, alongside Mohammad Hafeez, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz and Naseem Shah met the young patients and extended their support for the children.

The young patients were over the moon by meeting their favourite stars. The Gladiators took pictures with the children and gave their autographs.

Furthermore, the players also gave the children their signed bats and Gladiators’ jerseys.

Taking to Twitter, the Gladiators share footage of their players paying a visit to a local hospital here.

“Little warriors met their favourite Gladiators,” wrote the franchise.

📹 | 𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙂𝙡𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨 💜

A special thanks to our partner Indus Hospital for allowing us to host these brave 🌟 kids.#WeTheGladiators #PurpleForce #ShaanePakistan pic.twitter.com/i6Hc7xLMYA

— Quetta Gladiators (@TeamQuetta) February 24, 2023

Earlier, PSL 8 observed childhood cancer awareness day on February 16.

The day was observed when 2020 PSL champions Karachi Kings played Islamabad United in the fourth match of PSL 8 at National Bank Cricket Arena here. Players from both sides donned golden caps and ribbons to promote awareness of the disease.

It is pertinent to mention that the Gladiators will lock horns with Islamabad United in their fifth fixture of the ongoing PSL 8.

The side is currently at the bottom of the points table with just two points in four matches, while the United are in the second spot with four points in three matches.

READ: Gurbaz credits pre-match chat with Babar for solid performance

KARACHI: Islamabad United batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz has credited the useful tips shared by Babar Azam before the game for his sensational knock against Peshawar Zalmi on Thursday.

Aghanistan’s Gurbaz struck a quickfire half-century and bolstered Islamabad United to thrash Peshawar Zalmi by six wickets in the 12th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.

He claimed that the pre-match chat with the Pakistan captain helped him a lot to change the way he used to bat.

“I changed one thing in my batting today. I also focused on some strike rotation. Before this, I just try to hit too hard but today my focus was also to play some good cricketing shots,” he said in a post-match press conference.

“I spoke to Babar before the match and asked about his mindset. He shared his experience with me and I applied that to my batting and it helped.”

“Earlier, I was just keen on hitting every ball but today I saw his (Babar’s) batting as well and observed how he rotates strike and hit boundaries,” he added.

The right-hander scored 62 in just 31 balls, smashing seven fours and four sixes, to put United in command before he was dismissed in the ninth over off Usman Qadir.

The 21-year-old also hailed the PSL for the quality it offers and claimed that he would share the experience with his teammates back home.

READ: Australia captain Cummins out of third Test against India

 

 

KARACHI: Peshawar Zalmi skipper Babar Azam commented on his defensive approach in the death overs amid his side’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) fixture against Islamabad United, stating that his side kept losing wickets.

Zalmi’s skipper Babar, who amassed his half-century in just 33 deliveries, struggled in the second phase of his knock as the right-handed batter could score 25 runs in as many deliveries, on his way to an unbeaten 75.

Babar struggled against a disciplined United bowling attack in the death overs and could not power his side to a defendable total as Zalmi could amass 156/8 in 20 overs despite a flying start.

Meanwhile, Babar interacted with the media here following his side’s six-wicket defeat against Islamabad United and revealed the reason behind his defensive approach in the death overs of the first innings.

“We started off well but could not finish it in the same way. Our goal was to execute our plan in the first six overs. But, we lost back-to-back wickets after that and I decided to take the match deep,” said Babar.

“But, whenever I thought of charging [on the bowlers], we lost wickets. My strive was to just take the match to the end. There is no such thing as that I wasn’t being able to middle the ball but as I said, we could not finish off well,” he added.

The Zalmi captain then went on to term Hasan Ali’s spell a game-changer as his twin strikes halted his side’s march towards a big total.

“That spell of Hasan Ali was a game changer. The wickets that he took totally changed our momentum and all of those strikes were crucial,” praised Babar.

It is pertinent to mention that the dominating triumph over Zalmi, propelled United to occupy the second spot in the PSL 8 standings.

KARACHI: Right-handed opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz struck a quickfire half-century and bolstered Islamabad United to thrash Peshawar Zalmi by six wickets in the 12th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.

Set to chase a mere 157, the United comfortably steered to a six-wicket victory with 31 balls to spare at the back of a scintillating half-century by Gurbaz.

Earlier, the United openers Gurbaz provided his side with a flying start despite his partner Colin Munro perishing cheaply for just nine.

The right-handed charged on the Zalmi bowlers as he brought up his half-century in just 24 deliveries before falling in the ninth over after scoring a quickfire 61.

Gurbaz faced a mere 31 balls on his way to 61, hitting seven boundaries and four sixes.

Following his dismissal, Rassie van der Dussen stitched brief yet crucial partnerships with Shadab Khan (3) and Asif Ali before departing in the 13th over when his side needed just 17 in 42 deliveries.

He scored 42 off just 29 deliveries and hit six boundaries.

Following his dismissal, Asif then put on an unbeaten match-winning partnership with Azam Khan (9*) and propelled his side to a dominating six-wicket victory. Asif remained unbeaten on 29. He faced just 13 deliveries and smashed four boundaries including three sixes.

For Zalmi, Usman Qadir, Arshad Iqbal and James Neesham could pick up a wicket.

Put into bat first, the Zalmi could raise 156/8 in 20 overs despite a gritty 75-run knock by their skipper Babar Azam and a brisk knock of 41 by Mohammad Haris.

The opening pair of Zalmi gave the side a flying start against the United as they added 76 runs within seven overs before Shadab provided a much-needed breakthrough by removing Haris on the final delivery.

Haris scored quickfire 41 runs off just 20 deliveries, hitting four boundaries and a six.

Young batting sensation Saim Ayub fell victim to Mubasir Khan in the next over for just three before Hasan Ali struck twice in the 10th over to push Zalmi to the backfoot as the side slipped to 88/4 in 10 overs.

Zalmi could not recover from the collapse and kept losing wickets at an alarming rate which halted their march towards a big total.

Babar, on the other hand, held his ground firm and carried his bat all the way through but some tight bowling display from the United barred Zalmi from amassing a big total.

Skipper Babar remained the top-scorer for his side with 75 off 58 deliveries, laced with seven boundaries and a six.

Hasan led the bowling attack for the United with 3/35 while Shadab, Rumman Raees, Faheem Ashraf and Mubasir made one scalp each.

KARACHI: Islamabad United have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Babar-Azam led Peshawar Zalmi in the 12th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.

Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam, Mohammad Haris, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Rovman Powell, Dasun Shanaka, Jimmy Neesham, Wahab Riaz, Usman Qadir, Arshad Iqbal, Sufyan Muqeem.

Islamabad United: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Colin Munro, Rassie van der Dussen, Shadab Khan, Azam Khan, Asif Ali, Mubasir Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Tom Curran, Hasan Ali, Rumman Raees

HEAD TO HEAD

Matches 19, Peshawar Zalmi-9, Islamabad United-9, No Result-1

MULTAN: After a nail-biting first clash on Wednesday, Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans departed for the former’s home city to lock horns with each other for the second time in the Pakistan Super League season 8. 

Multan Sultans defeated Karachi Kings by three runs in a nerve-wracking contest yesterday, despite fighting knocks by James Vince and captain Imad Wasim.

The Kings will play in front of their home crowd for one last time in the tournament when they host the Sultans on Sunday.

The match will also mark the end Karachi-Multan leg of the megaevent and the action then gets shifted to Lahore and Rawalpindi.

READ: ‘Incentivize footballers’ urges President in meeting with PFF, national teams

MULTAN: James Vince’s blistering 75 and skipper Imad Wasim’s crucial 46-run knock went in vain as Multan Sultans held their nerves calm to edge Karachi Kings by three runs in the high-scoring Pakistan Super League (PSL) eight thriller on Wednesday.

Set to chase 197, the Kings fell just three runs short as the side could finish at 194/5 despite a heroic knock by their captain Imad.

Earlier, the Kings openers gave their side a flying start as they added brisk 72 runs in just six overs with Vince leading the charge as he struck the fastest half-century of the ongoing edition in just 20 deliveries.

Usama Mir then broke the shackles for the Sultans soon after the powerplay as he dismissed Matthew Wade on the first delivery of his spell to script his side’s comeback in the run chase. Wade could score 20 off 14 deliveries.

Meanwhile, Vince carried on to charge on the Sultans’ bowlers amid his 33-run partnership with Haider Ali before a mixup between the wickets brought curtains on his great knock. The right-handed batter top-scored for the Kings with a 34-ball 75 that featured seven boundaries and six sixes.

The Kings then endured another setback in the run chase when Khushdil Shah removed Haider in the 12th over and the visitors consequently slipped to 113/3.

Following the slump, veteran batter Shoaib Malik and skipper Imad attempted to anchor the run chase as the pair added 35 runs for the fourth wicket before the latter fell in the 17th over after scoring 13 off 19.

Skipper Imad, however, kept the game alive with belligerent hitting as he took Mohammad Ilyas to the cleaners in the 19th over but Abbas Afridi held his composure in the tense final over and successfully defended 22 runs to steer his side to glory.

Imad remained unbeaten with a brisk 47-run knock in just 26 balls, laced with five sixes.

Abbas led the bowling attack for the Sultans with 2/55 while Usama and Khushdil could pick up a wicket.

Put into bat first by the Kings, the Sultans piled up a mammoth 196/1 in their set of 20 overs with their skipper Mohammad Rizwan leading the charge with a magnificent century.

The home side started off well against the Kings as their openers Masood and Rizwan laid a solid foundation for a massive total with a brilliant 85-run opening partnership with Masood scoring his first half-century of the ongoing season.

Experienced all-rounder Shoaib Malik then provided a much-needed breakthrough to the Kings as he removed Masood soon after the latter got to his fifty. He scored 51 off 33 deliveries with the help of six boundaries and a six.

Masood’s dismissal did not bother the Sultans’ march for a big total much as Rizwan then joined hands with in-form Rilee Rossouw and put on an astonishing 109-run partnership before the latter perished in the final over after scoring 29 off 21 balls, hitting four boundaries.

Rizwan remained the core aggressor of his century-plus stand with Rossouw and brought up his century before carrying his bat all the way through and leading the Sultans to 196/2.

Rizwan top-scored for his side with an unbeaten 110 off 64 deliveries, laced with 10 boundaries and four sixes.

For the Kings, Malik and Mohammad Umar made one scalp each.