PSL 9 Eliminator: Islamabad pass, Quetta fail miserably

Islamabad United easily defeated Quetta Gladiators by 39 runs in the first eliminator match on Friday. Pakistan Super League (PSL) out of 9.

Batting first at the National Cricket Stadium in Karachi, United scored 174 runs for the loss of nine wickets with the help of opener Martin Guptill’s half-century, which the Gladiators might not achieve.

Guptill and Alex Hales gave the team a good start, scoring 50 runs in six overs. Hales (23 runs) was caught out by Akil Hussain in the sixth over.

After his departure, Guptill went on the offensive and combined with Agha Salman to take the score to 102 in the 12th over.

Salman scored 31 runs off 21 balls. At one point, it looked like Islamabad might reach 200 runs in the allotted 20 overs. However, due to the frequent fall of wickets, she was able to score 174 runs for nine wickets.

Captain Shadab Khan scored 23 runs while wicketkeeper batsman Azam Khan scored 18 runs off six balls. Four Islamabad batsmen might not get into double figures.

Quetta Gladiators’ wicketkeeper Evans drops a catch by Islamabad United’s Salman Agha in an eliminator of PSL 9 on March 15, 2024 (AFP)

Gladiators’ Mohammad Amir and Akhil took two wickets each while Mohammad Wasim, Abrar Ahmed and Saud Shakeel took one wicket each.

Quetta did not start well in the chase of 175 runs and his top three wickets fell for just 10 runs in the third over.

This section contains related reference points (Related Nodes field).

Jason Roy (one run), Saud Shakeel (0) and skipper Riley Russo returned to the pavilion for just five runs.

After two more wickets fell in the fifth over, it became impossible for the team to return to the match.

Quetta’s top five batsmen returned to the pavilion for a total score of just 16, with four of them failing to go beyond single figures.

Umeer Yusuf and Aqeel Hussain put on a 52-run partnership for the sixth wicket but it was not enough. In 11 overs, Aqeel (31 runs) was run out taking an irresponsible second run.

The entire Quetta team was dismissed for 135 runs in the 19th over due to the continuous fall of wickets.

Islamabad’s Imad Wasim scored 12 runs and three while Naseem Shah took two wickets.

Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi will face each other on Saturday and the winner of this match will face Multan Sultans in the final on Monday.

For authentic news and current affairs analysis join Independent Urdu’s WhatsApp channel Here Click