KARACHI: Ahsan Ali scored fifty whereas Mohammad Nawaz scored 47 to show solid fight but Islamabad United managed to defend 230 runs and beat Quetta Gladiators by 43 runs margin in 10th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 7 here at National Stadium on Thursday.
Set to chase mammoth 230 runs, Ahsan started off well for Gladiators but other batters couldn’t continue longer with him. The right-handed batter scored his third PSL 7 fifty to resist a bit for his team who were bowled out for 186. His 50-runs knock included eight boundaries and a six.
Mohammad Nawaz, in the end, tried to put his team back on the track but they kept on losing wickets. He scored 47 off 22 balls laced with two boundaries and five sixes. James Faulkner remained not out for 30 including three boundaries and two sixes.
Shadab Khan bagged five wickets while Mohammad Wasim and Hasan Ali managed to take two wickets each.
Earlier, United’s batters were on song as they smacked Gladiators’ bowlers all around the park to post mammoth 229-4 in 20 overs.
United’s openers Alex Hales and Paul Stirling opened their runs account from the very start as they put together quick 55 runs. James Faulkner removed Hales (22) to give some relief to Gladiators.
But, Stirling looked in red-hot touch as he smacked three maximums and seven boundaries to score 58 runs off 28 balls.
Later on, Colin Munro (72*) and Azam Khan (65) joined hands to smash opponent’s bowlers. The left-right-hand combination scored 93 runs together. Azam struck six maximums followed by Munro’s towering five sixes.
Experienced bowler Shahid Khan Afridi was smashed for eight sixes altogether and he finished as the most expensive bowler in history of PSL, conceding 67 runs in four overs. Mohammad Nawaz took two wickets.
