DUBAI: Lahore Qalandars defeated Quetta Gladiators by eight wickets in the seventeenth match of the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) fourth edition at Duabi International Stadium on Wednesday.
Lahore Qalandars comfortably chased down the target of 107-run for the loss of two wickets
AB de Villiers scored 47 not-out off 38 balls while Haris Sohail remained not-out for 33 as they took Qalandars easily over the finish line in the 16th over.
Opener Gauhar Ali scored 21 runs before being bowled out by Harry Gurney.
Earlier, Qalandars leg spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, an 18-year-old prodigy who plays for Nepal’s One Day International squad, outshone with his googlies, taking four wickets for 10 runs and helping dismiss the entire Gladiators batting line-up ion the 19th over for 106.
Gladiators opener Ahsan Ali top scored with 33 runs while captain Sarfaraz Ahmed added 29 runs with the bat. Mohammad Nawaz scored 12 runs, while the rest of the Gladiators batsmen could not even reach double figures.
Haris Rauf took two wickets for 23 runs for Lahore Qalandars, while Shaheen Shah Afridi and Yasir Shah took one wicket each.
Qalandars and Gladiators met after their unforgettable encounter on Saturday, where Gladiators skipper Sarfraz Ahmed hit a six off the last ball from David Weise to take his team to a dramatic three-wicket win in Sharjah.
Gladiators chased down Qalandars’ total of 143-7 with no ball to spare, with Sarfraz top-scoring with 52 off 36 balls and newcomer Ahsan Ali contributing with 40 off 29. Ghulam Mudassar claimed three for 21. Qalandars regained their momentum somewhat when they chased down a mammoth 200 against Multan Sultans in a thrilling finish, with AB de Villiers smashing a heroic 52 not out off 29 balls and Weise pitching in with an unbeaten 45 off 20.
The de Villiers-led Qalandars now have three wins from six matches, whereas Gladiators’ previous defeat came against Karachi Kings.
Squads
Lahore Qalandars
Salman Butt, Fakhar Zaman, AB de Villiers, Yasir Shah, Corey Anderson, Anton Devcich, Rahat Ali, Sandeep Lamichhane, Shaheen Afridi, Agha Salman, Sohail Akhtar, Hassan Khan, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Imran, Umair Masood, Brendon Taylor, Gauhar Ali, Aizaz Cheema, Haris Rauf, Hardus Viljoen, David Wiese, Saad Ali