Daily Times

SHARJAH: Islamabad United won a record-equalling sixth straight match of the Pakistan Super League III, defeating Quetta Gladiators by six wickets at Sharjah Cricket Stadium here on Thursday night. Chasing a moderate target of 148, Islamabad strolled to their seventh victory in nine matches. JP Duminy, the South African lefthander who has consented to play in the Pakistan leg of the competition, anchored the chase with a solid knock of 54 off 47 balls. His innings was studded with four fours and two sixes. Asif Ali finished the game by depositing Rahat Ali over midwicket for a six.

In reply, Islamabad chase down the target with 10 balls to spare at the expense of four wickets. For Quetta, Rahat Ali claimed two, whereas Shane Watson and Mir Hamza claimed a wicket each.

Earlier, after having decided to bat first, Quetta’s innings failed to gain any momentum after a shaky start. They managed to post 147 for the loss of seven wickets in their allotted 20 overs. The overseas trio in the top-four batting contributed just 32 runs. Watson perished for eight while going for an expansive stroke against spinner Samit Patel in the third over while Jason Roy was cleaned up by Amad Butt for 17. Kevin Pietersen edged a simple catch to Ronchi off Fahim Ashraf for seven. Fahim was the pick of the bowlers with 3-19. At three down for 41 in seven overs, Quetta were in trouble and needed someone to bring some verve to their wavering innings. And although Sarfraz Ahmed and the recalled Umar Amin put on 64 at a decent rate, Islamabad controlled the game well through tight bowling and sharp fielding.

Brief scores: Islamabad United 149 for 4 (JP Duminy 54) beat Quetta Gladiators 147 for 7 (Sarfraz Ahmed 43, Faheem Ashraf 3-19) by six wickets.

Published in Daily Times, March 17^th 2018.