Quetta Gladiators were outwitted by Islamabad United by two wickets in a match where momentum swung from one end to the other. Islamabad United has secured a spot in the playoffs for the eighth time as a consequence of this victory.
After the top-order collapse, Mohammad Nawaz and Najibullah Zadran significantly rebuilt the system. Later, though, Umar Akmal showed his long-lost class once again by going back in time and scoring a gallant 43. Islamabad United also got off to a rough start, but a brilliant fifty from Colin Munro and a strong partnership between Azam Khan and Faheem Ashraf helped them turn things around.
Islamabad United Qualified for playoffs
Islamabad United made the wise choice to let the Gladiators bat first, and it paid off since Fazalhaq Farooqi made the ball swing erratically and caused issues for Quetta during the powerplay by dismissing Will Smeed and Yasir Khan. Iftikhar Ahmed was unable to start his Iftimania as the Gladiators were struggling at 17/4 in the sixth over as Sarfaraz Ahmed attempted a slog sweep and almost cleared the fence but Mubasir Khan pulled off a stunning catch at deep square.
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After a fantastic 104-run partnership, Nawaz and Zadran inspired the whole Quetta team, and it seemed as if they would win the PSL 8 for the second time. But, the bowling was without one bowler since Mohammad Hasnain was not part of the squad due to a suspected injury. Odean Smith was one of the main causes of the defeat today because Sarfaraz Ahmed had to make do with a limited supply of bowlers.
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In his match with Colin Munro, Smith let up 18 runs, and Umaid Asif threw plenty of runs at a fired-up Munro. As Shadab Khan holed out to Iftikhar Ahmed midway through the innings and Nawaz removed Munro, Quetta immediately retook the lead and Islamabad United lost their composure. Nawaz moved Asif Ali’s stumps after Umaid forced the gun fielder Mubasir to make a fake shot.
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At that point, Islamabad United Azam Khan and Faheem Ashraf took their time on the crease and controlled the asking rate. After settling down and evaluating the situation, Azam Khan played another match-winning inning by hitting his first boundary in the 17th over as Ashraf was also putting the pressure on from the other end.
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In order to make short work of the pursuit of Islamabad United, Azam destroyed Naveen-ul-Haq for a four and six before slamming Umaid for a maximum. As Sarfaraz handed the ball to Odean to bowl the last over, it was only a formality. Odean missed his goals, and Ashraf easily put him for goals to end the game.
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