Quetta beat Islamabad by eight wickets in PSL opener
Nawaz bags four scalps for Gladiators; Misbah (41), Russell (35) top-score for United
PHOTO: TWITTER/ QUETTA GLADIATORS
Quetta Gladiators won the opening match of the inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL) beating Islamabad United by eight wickets in a one-sided match at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Luke Wright played a magnificent unbeaten innings of 86 runs. He hit 11 boundaries and four maximums in the process.
Imran Khalid was the only successful bowler for Islamabad with two wickets for 20 runs in his four overs.
Earlier, Muhammad Nawaz's four overs of left-arm spin helped Quetta restrict Islamabad to a score of 128-7.
Quetta sent Islamabad to bat first after winning the toss and Nawaz bagged four wickets in each of his four overs to bring Misbahul Haq-led team down.
Misbah (41) together with Andre Russell (35), then, played useful knocks to push the total to decency.
Smart player of the match, maximum boundaries award bagged by Luke Wright.
Man of the match award goes to Muhammad Nawaz for his all-round performance. "I am very happy. Pressure was there but Zulfiqar helped me. I am here to prove myself as an all-rounder."
Misbah: "We started poorly with the bat and the ball. We kept losing wickets. Quetta applied themselves better than us. Pitches support the spinner, we need to add spinners."
Sarfraz: "We won a good toss. The win is very important. Credit goes to the bowlers. Luke was exceptional, he pushed Islamabad out of the match. KP supported me very much."
Teams
QUE 132-2 (16 overs)
SIX by Luke over midwicket and a FOUR on the last ball to end the match with an eight-wicket win.
Andre Russell.
QUE 119-2 (15 overs)
Five runs off the over
Samuel Badree now!
QUE 114-2 (14 overs)
FOUR! Full-toss and Luke finds the midwicket fence.
Watson in for his second over.
QUE 106-2 (13 overs)
FOUR! Slammed by Luke to beat long-on.
Samuel Badree is back!
QUE 100-2 (12 overs)
Luke almost caught by Watson!
Shane Watson has come on to bowl now!
QUE 95-2 (11 overs)
SIX! You can't bowl full-toss to Luke with that form on.
Imran Khalid in for his last over.
QUE 82-2 (10 overs)
FOUR! Nawaz now. Slams it towards midwicket.
FOUR! Luke is in red hot form right now!
Muhammad Irfan is back! Muhammad Nawaz and Luke Wright face.
QUE 74-2 (9 overs)
LBW! Pietersen caught in front of the stumps. He departs for a meagre eight runs.
FIFTY up for Luke Wright.
Imran Khalid.
QUE 67-1 (8 overs)
Pietersen steals two off Irfan at fine leg.
Rumman Raees continues into his second over.
QUE 62-1 (7 overs)
Just four runs off the over.
Imran Khalid continues with left-arm spin.
QUE 58-1 (6 overs)
No boundaries and only four runs off the over.
Rumman Raees with left-arm medium pace.
QUE 54-1 (5 overs)
OUT! Shehzad send the leading edge back to the bowler. Islamabad strike. Kevin Pietersen walks in!
Imran Khalid with his left-arm spin now.
QUE 53-0 (4 overs)
FOUR! Full-toss on legs and Luke earns yet another boundary. This time towards long leg.
FOUR! Luke making full use of the powerplay.
FOUR! Short again, this time Luke dissects the off-side field.
FOUR! Short and pulled by Luke towards midwicket. Quetta steaming towards the target.
Andre Russell now.
QUE 35-0 (3 overs)
SIXx2! Short and Wright pulls, fuller and Wright targets midwicket.
Irfan continues.
QUE 20-0 (2 overs)
Samuel Badree to bowl the second over. FOURx3! Wright starts the carnage, Shehzad hits a brace!
Luke Wright and Ahmed Shehzad open for Quetta. Tall left-armer Muhammad Irfan to open the bowling. Goes for six runs in the over courtesy a boundary by Wright.
ISL 128-7 (20 overs)
FOUR! The match ends on a good note. Quetta will have to put in effort to chase this target. Islamabad don't have a big target but it is enough to defend on this wicket.
Even the great Andre Russell hasn't got an answer to Gul-dozer's yorker!
Umar Gul to bowl the last over.
ISL 120-7 (19 overs)
OUT! Misbah pulls and is caught at short fine leg. Gul takes the catch.
FOUR! Another one from Misbah. This time its midwicket.
FOURx2! Misbah joins the party now!
Anwar Ali now with penultimate over.
ISL 106-6 (18 overs)
Short ball and missed by Russell. Heavy thumping for Gul!
FOUR! Russell again! Full and Russell digs it out and beats the fielder at extra cover.
SIX! Short and pulled over long leg. United cross the 100-run mark. Russell on fire!
FOUR! This time its extra cover. Russell pushing Islamabad's score towards a little decency.
FOUR! Full and hit hard towards midwicket by Russell.
So the seamers are back. Umar Gul steams in!
ISL 86-6 (17 overs)
SIX! Misbah goes straight over long-on.
Zulfiqar Babar now.
ISL 77-6 (16 overs)
SIX! Andre Russell with a big front-foot smash over long-on.
Muhammad Nabi into his fourth over.
ISL 64-6 (15 overs)
OUT! Nabi bags Nawaz's fourth wicket at square leg. Imran Khalid tries to slog sweep, instead finds the fielder.
Muhammad Nawaz continues into his last over. Turn of fortunes for this lad!
ISL 62-5 (14 overs)
DROPPED! Imran Khalid tries to go over the extra cover boundary but finds the fielder who spills a dolly; Akbarur Rehman is the culprit!
Muhammad Nabi to bowl his third over now. Sarfraz is not calling on his seamers.
ISL 57-5 (13 overs)
Four runs and a wicket off the over. Nawaz has three scalps from his three overs.
OUT! Babar Azam comes out of the crease, edges it into the air and is caught at short fine leg.
Muhammad Nawaz into his third over.
ISL 53-4 (12 overs)
FOURx2! Misbahul Haq goes straight and beats long-off, while Babar beats the fielder at midwicket.
Zulfiqar Babar now.
ISL 40-4 (11 overs)
Four runs from Akbarur Rehman's over.
ISL 36-4 (10 overs)
The go-to man in crises, Misbahul Haq, is here to join Babar Azam.
BOWLED! Sam Billings goes for a reverse sweep and misses the ball.
Muhammad Nawaz continues.
ISL 32-3 (9 overs)
Akbarur Rehman gives only four in his over. Sarfraz playing smart here. Dealing with spinners.
ISL 28-3 (8 overs)
BOWLED! Danger man Shane Watson is gone. Nawaz strikes!
Muhammad Nawaz with his left-arm spin now.
ISL 25-2 (7 overs)
Just three runs and a wicket off the over.
OUT! Luke Wright bag a stunner square on off side. Umar Amin departs. Quetta in control right now!
Umar Gul brought into the attack now.
ISL 22-1 (6 overs)
Muhammad Nabi continues and Watson is joined by another left-hand batsman Umar Amin.
ISL 21-1 (5 overs)
OUT! Swept and caught by Nabi inside the circle. Zulfiqar takes the first scalp of the PSL.
SIX! Steps out and smashes it over long-on. Sharjeel registers his name on the first six of the PSL.
Zulfiqar Babar into his second over. Sharjeel Khan faces.
ISL 12-0 (4 overs)
Two runs off the over.
Afghanistan off-spinner Muhammad Nabi is on now.
ISL 12-0 (4 overs)
Two runs off the over.
Afghanistan off-spinner Muhammad Nabi is on now.
ISL 10-0 (3 overs)
FOUR! First boundary of the PSL comes off Watson's bat. Short and punched towards leg.
ISL 5-0 (2 overs)
Five runs off the over. No boundary yet in the opening match of the PSL.
Spin from the other end, its the left-armer Zulfiqar Babar.
ISL 0-0 (1 over)
The PSL kicksoff with a maiden by Anwar Ali to Shane Watson.
Anwar Ali to bowl the first ball of the PSL to Shane Watson. And it is a dot!
Quetta captain, Sarfraz Ahmed: We will bowl first and use the dew to our advantage.
Islamabad captain, Misbahul Haq: We want to set a good total. Shane Watson is in good form. The opening ceremony was tremendous. We couldn't have expected better.
Luke Wright played a magnificent unbeaten innings of 86 runs. He hit 11 boundaries and four maximums in the process.
Imran Khalid was the only successful bowler for Islamabad with two wickets for 20 runs in his four overs.
Earlier, Muhammad Nawaz's four overs of left-arm spin helped Quetta restrict Islamabad to a score of 128-7.
Quetta sent Islamabad to bat first after winning the toss and Nawaz bagged four wickets in each of his four overs to bring Misbahul Haq-led team down.
Misbah (41) together with Andre Russell (35), then, played useful knocks to push the total to decency.
Smart player of the match, maximum boundaries award bagged by Luke Wright.
Man of the match award goes to Muhammad Nawaz for his all-round performance. "I am very happy. Pressure was there but Zulfiqar helped me. I am here to prove myself as an all-rounder."
Misbah: "We started poorly with the bat and the ball. We kept losing wickets. Quetta applied themselves better than us. Pitches support the spinner, we need to add spinners."
Sarfraz: "We won a good toss. The win is very important. Credit goes to the bowlers. Luke was exceptional, he pushed Islamabad out of the match. KP supported me very much."
Teams
QUE 132-2 (16 overs)
SIX by Luke over midwicket and a FOUR on the last ball to end the match with an eight-wicket win.
Andre Russell.
QUE 119-2 (15 overs)
Five runs off the over
Samuel Badree now!
QUE 114-2 (14 overs)
FOUR! Full-toss and Luke finds the midwicket fence.
Watson in for his second over.
QUE 106-2 (13 overs)
FOUR! Slammed by Luke to beat long-on.
Samuel Badree is back!
QUE 100-2 (12 overs)
Luke almost caught by Watson!
Shane Watson has come on to bowl now!
QUE 95-2 (11 overs)
SIX! You can't bowl full-toss to Luke with that form on.
Imran Khalid in for his last over.
QUE 82-2 (10 overs)
FOUR! Nawaz now. Slams it towards midwicket.
FOUR! Luke is in red hot form right now!
Muhammad Irfan is back! Muhammad Nawaz and Luke Wright face.
QUE 74-2 (9 overs)
LBW! Pietersen caught in front of the stumps. He departs for a meagre eight runs.
FIFTY up for Luke Wright.
Imran Khalid.
QUE 67-1 (8 overs)
Pietersen steals two off Irfan at fine leg.
Rumman Raees continues into his second over.
QUE 62-1 (7 overs)
Just four runs off the over.
Imran Khalid continues with left-arm spin.
QUE 58-1 (6 overs)
No boundaries and only four runs off the over.
Rumman Raees with left-arm medium pace.
QUE 54-1 (5 overs)
OUT! Shehzad send the leading edge back to the bowler. Islamabad strike. Kevin Pietersen walks in!
Imran Khalid with his left-arm spin now.
QUE 53-0 (4 overs)
FOUR! Full-toss on legs and Luke earns yet another boundary. This time towards long leg.
FOUR! Luke making full use of the powerplay.
FOUR! Short again, this time Luke dissects the off-side field.
FOUR! Short and pulled by Luke towards midwicket. Quetta steaming towards the target.
Andre Russell now.
QUE 35-0 (3 overs)
SIXx2! Short and Wright pulls, fuller and Wright targets midwicket.
Irfan continues.
QUE 20-0 (2 overs)
Samuel Badree to bowl the second over. FOURx3! Wright starts the carnage, Shehzad hits a brace!
Luke Wright and Ahmed Shehzad open for Quetta. Tall left-armer Muhammad Irfan to open the bowling. Goes for six runs in the over courtesy a boundary by Wright.
ISL 128-7 (20 overs)
FOUR! The match ends on a good note. Quetta will have to put in effort to chase this target. Islamabad don't have a big target but it is enough to defend on this wicket.
Even the great Andre Russell hasn't got an answer to Gul-dozer's yorker!
Umar Gul to bowl the last over.
ISL 120-7 (19 overs)
OUT! Misbah pulls and is caught at short fine leg. Gul takes the catch.
FOUR! Another one from Misbah. This time its midwicket.
FOURx2! Misbah joins the party now!
Anwar Ali now with penultimate over.
ISL 106-6 (18 overs)
Short ball and missed by Russell. Heavy thumping for Gul!
FOUR! Russell again! Full and Russell digs it out and beats the fielder at extra cover.
SIX! Short and pulled over long leg. United cross the 100-run mark. Russell on fire!
FOUR! This time its extra cover. Russell pushing Islamabad's score towards a little decency.
FOUR! Full and hit hard towards midwicket by Russell.
So the seamers are back. Umar Gul steams in!
ISL 86-6 (17 overs)
SIX! Misbah goes straight over long-on.
Zulfiqar Babar now.
ISL 77-6 (16 overs)
SIX! Andre Russell with a big front-foot smash over long-on.
Muhammad Nabi into his fourth over.
ISL 64-6 (15 overs)
OUT! Nabi bags Nawaz's fourth wicket at square leg. Imran Khalid tries to slog sweep, instead finds the fielder.
Muhammad Nawaz continues into his last over. Turn of fortunes for this lad!
ISL 62-5 (14 overs)
DROPPED! Imran Khalid tries to go over the extra cover boundary but finds the fielder who spills a dolly; Akbarur Rehman is the culprit!
Muhammad Nabi to bowl his third over now. Sarfraz is not calling on his seamers.
ISL 57-5 (13 overs)
Four runs and a wicket off the over. Nawaz has three scalps from his three overs.
OUT! Babar Azam comes out of the crease, edges it into the air and is caught at short fine leg.
Muhammad Nawaz into his third over.
ISL 53-4 (12 overs)
FOURx2! Misbahul Haq goes straight and beats long-off, while Babar beats the fielder at midwicket.
Zulfiqar Babar now.
ISL 40-4 (11 overs)
Four runs from Akbarur Rehman's over.
ISL 36-4 (10 overs)
The go-to man in crises, Misbahul Haq, is here to join Babar Azam.
BOWLED! Sam Billings goes for a reverse sweep and misses the ball.
Muhammad Nawaz continues.
ISL 32-3 (9 overs)
Akbarur Rehman gives only four in his over. Sarfraz playing smart here. Dealing with spinners.
ISL 28-3 (8 overs)
BOWLED! Danger man Shane Watson is gone. Nawaz strikes!
Muhammad Nawaz with his left-arm spin now.
ISL 25-2 (7 overs)
Just three runs and a wicket off the over.
OUT! Luke Wright bag a stunner square on off side. Umar Amin departs. Quetta in control right now!
Umar Gul brought into the attack now.
ISL 22-1 (6 overs)
Muhammad Nabi continues and Watson is joined by another left-hand batsman Umar Amin.
ISL 21-1 (5 overs)
OUT! Swept and caught by Nabi inside the circle. Zulfiqar takes the first scalp of the PSL.
SIX! Steps out and smashes it over long-on. Sharjeel registers his name on the first six of the PSL.
Zulfiqar Babar into his second over. Sharjeel Khan faces.
ISL 12-0 (4 overs)
Two runs off the over.
Afghanistan off-spinner Muhammad Nabi is on now.
ISL 12-0 (4 overs)
Two runs off the over.
Afghanistan off-spinner Muhammad Nabi is on now.
ISL 10-0 (3 overs)
FOUR! First boundary of the PSL comes off Watson's bat. Short and punched towards leg.
ISL 5-0 (2 overs)
Five runs off the over. No boundary yet in the opening match of the PSL.
Spin from the other end, its the left-armer Zulfiqar Babar.
ISL 0-0 (1 over)
The PSL kicksoff with a maiden by Anwar Ali to Shane Watson.
Anwar Ali to bowl the first ball of the PSL to Shane Watson. And it is a dot!
Quetta captain, Sarfraz Ahmed: We will bowl first and use the dew to our advantage.
Islamabad captain, Misbahul Haq: We want to set a good total. Shane Watson is in good form. The opening ceremony was tremendous. We couldn't have expected better.