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RAWALPINDI: Quetta Gladiators skipper Saud Shakeel expressed his thoughts after a crushing defeat against Lahore Qalandars in the fourth match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
During a post-match presentation, Saud highlighted the team’s shortcomings, emphasizing that their strength is spin bowling.
“I think we didn’t pick the best team, and our strength lies in spin. Credit goes to their batters as well—Fakhar at the top, Mitchell in the middle, and Billings at the end. We have a few issues that need to be resolved before the next game,” Saud remarked.
The left-hander emphasized on Rawalpindi pitch, acknowledging the threat of Lahore Qalandar’s skipper bowling.
“We know Shaheen is a strike bowler. The plan was to deny him wickets, but we lost the early ones, and it’s not easy to chase a big target after that,” Saud said of Shaheen’s bowling.
“We’ll try to reduce our mistakes in the next game. Pindi usually favors batters. The last match was an exception, but today it played like a typical Pindi pitch,” Saud Shakeel concluded.
Chasing a mammoth total of 220, Gladiators were bundled out for 140 in 16.3 overs, thanks to a dominant bowling display from Qalandars, registering their first win in PSL 10.
Lahore Qalandars bowlers ripped the top order of Quetta Gladiators in the opening overs. Qalandar’s skipper led from the front, removing openers Saud Shakeel (1) and Finn Allen (0) inside the first three overs.
After losing wickets at regular intervals, Gladiators never looked in the chase and were eventually bundled out in the 16th over.
Rossouw displayed remarkable character and resilience, top-scoring with 44 off 19 balls, which included four sixes and four fours.
For Qalandars, Rishad Hossain was the pick of bowlers, taking three for 31 in his quota of four overs. Asif Afridi, Shaheen Afridi, and Sikandar Raza bagged two wickets each in an all-round bowling effort.
Fakhar Zaman was deemed ‘Player of the Match’ for his outstanding batting performance.
READ: Fakhar Zaman equals Mohammad Rizwan’s half-centuries record in PSL