Zaman Khan’s four-fer and Russie van der Dussen’s 64 helped Lahore Qalandars beat Islamabad United by 17 runs in the 23rd match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9 on Wednesday.
Zaman Khan took four wickets, conceding 37 runs in his 3.5 overs while skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi bagged two wickets as Qalandars successfully defended a moderate total of 162 runs at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
This is the first win of the season for the defending champions after six losses on the bounce.
For United, Faheem Ashraf remained the top-scorer with 41-not out. Azam Khan scored 29 off 19 deliveries.
Earlier, after winning the toss, Islamabad United skipper Shadab Khan put Lahore Qalandars into bat, citing moisture in the pitch.
The gamble paid off as Lahore lost both openers in the powerplay.
Hunain Shah struck first in the fifth over to remove struggling Sahibzada Farhan (2 off 12). Rumman Raees joined in the very next over as he got caught in the deep midwicket by Colin Munro for run-a-ball 10. Lahore were 16/2.
The next wicket to fall was of Shai Hope (6 off 9) in the seventh over, leaving Lahore 30/3.
Skipper Shaheen Afridi promoted himself to the fifth position and scored a counterattacking knock of 14-ball 30 to put his team back on track.
However, just when things looked to be settling for Lahore, they lost two more wickets in quick succession of Afridi and Sikandar Raza (4).
Russie van der Dussen, who was featuring in his last PSL 9 match for Lahore, played an impressive knock of 64 off 44. Ahsan Hafeez (13 off 8) and David Wiese (11-ball 24) also played little cameos to help Lahore post a fighting total of 162/7.
Karachi thump Quetta
In the first match of the day, Karachi Kings overpowered Quetta Gladiators to register their third win in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9.
Karachi marched past Quetta’s below-par 119-run target with seven wickets and 27 balls to spare.
Tim Seifert was the top scorer with 49 off 31 deliveries while James Vince and Shoaib Malik scored 27 each.
The seven-wicket win will also keep Karachi in the hunt for a playoff spot.
The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium welcomed a decent crowd for a day game that did not involve the home side.
Karachi skipper Shan Masood put Quetta into bat on a tricky wicket that offered spongy bounce and a sharp turn.
Despite that, Quetta managed to score 53 runs from the powerplay at the loss of Jason Roy, who departed for his 8-ball 15.
Just when they tried to take off, Hasan Ali struck twice in the 9th over to remove both set batters, Saud Shakeel (33 off 28) and Khawaja Nafay (17 odd 15).
The double blow opened floodgates for Karachi, who kept striking at regular intervals and bundled out Quetta for just 118 runs.
Hasan Ali was the pick of the bowlers for Karachi with his spell of 4/15.
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Points Table
Lahore Qalandars registered their first win in eight games. With three points, one of which came from a washed out game against Peshawar Zalmi last week, Lahore are still at the bottom of the table, and virtually out of the tournament.
Multan Sultans remain at the top with 12 points in 8 games. Quetta are still in the second spot with 9 points in 7 games, while Peshawar Zalmi are in the third spot with as many points from 8 games.
Islamabad United have jumped to the 4th spot in the points table with 7 points in 7 games, while Karachi Kings are in the fifth place with 6 points from 7 games.
Next Fixtures
Islamabad United will face Karachi Kings in the 24th match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, on Thursday. The match will start at 7 pm.
Past PSL Winners
PSL 2016 – Islamabad United
PSL 2017 – Peshawar Zalmi
PSL 2018 – Islamabad United
PSL 2019 – Quetta Gladiators
PSL 2020 – Karachi Kings
PSL 2021 – Multan Sultans
PSL 2022 - Lahore Qalandars
PSL 2023 - Lahore Qalandars