LAHORE, 3rd Mar 2023: Sensational Sikandar Raza led Lahore Qalandars to a convincing 17-run win over Quetta Gladiators in the 18th match of the HBL PSL 8 here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday night. Besides Sikandar’s blistering 71 not out in just 34 balls, wrapped with 8 boundaries and 3 sixes, outstanding bowling by Haris Rauf (3-22) and Rashid Khan (2-14) also played a key role in the fifth victory of Lahore Qalandars in the six matches, they played so far in the PSL 8.
This victory also strengthened their position on the points’ table as they have 10 points with Net Run Rate of 1.367. Although Gladiators started their run-chase well as their openers – Yasir Khan and Will Smeed – gathered 53 runs for the first wicket, yet they couldn’t get benefit of their good start and were restricted to 131-7 in 20 overs, while chasing a modest target of 149 runs, thanks to brilliant bowling of Haris Rauf (3-22) and Rashid Khan (2-14).
Yasir was dismissed by Rauf after scoring 14 runs off 15 balls, while Smeed was sent packing by Rashid at his personal score of 32 off 25 balls. Hafeez (2) was then run out by direct hit of Fakhar Zaman. Rashid also took an important wicket of Iftikhar Ahmed to dent the hopes of Gladiators. Martin Guptill (15) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (27*) also failed to save the sinking ship of Quetta.
Earlier, Sikandar Raza’s blistering unbeaten 71 runs off 34 balls helped Lahore Qalandars score 148-10 in 19.2 overs. Qalandars, put into bat first, couldn’t start well and kept on losing wickets on regular intervals. At one stage, it was felt that they would be dismissed for less than 100 runs after slipping to 50-7 against Gladiators. However, Rashid Khan and Sikandar Raza brought Qalandars back into the match with a significant 69-run partnership. After playing so well, Rashid was caught in the deep, scoring 21 runs off 20 balls.
Fakhar Zaman (4) was then run out by Umaid Asif and soon after that, Mirza Baig (2) also left the crease. Naveen-ul-Haq then dismissed Sam Billings (2) and Hussain Talat (6) while Abdullah Shafique also failed to contribute big in Qalandars total as he was cleaned up by Nawaz after scoring 15. Captain Shaheen, who came out to the crease at No 6, also contributed 16 runs in the total, while David Wiese could score 2 runs. M Nawaz (2- 19) and Naveed-ul-Haq (2-36) bowled well for Gladiators.
Reference Link: https://www.nation.com.pk/03-Mar-2023/sikandar-stars-in-qalandars-win-over-gladiators
