Daily Times

LAHORE: Islamabad United shocked Lahore Qalandars by one wicket in a high-octane Pakistan Super League5 (PSL) match, which went down to the last over, at Gaddafi Stadium here on Sunday evening. Chasing a formidable target of 183, Islamabad raced home in 19.5 overs. Mohammad Musa (17 not out) was instrumental in the very end to deliver the finish for Islamabad. Unexpectedly, the tailender hit a six and two much-needed fours to provide a good stand with Ahmad Safi Abdullah (8 not out) to ensure Islamabad secure the scintillating victory. Islamabad openers did not fare well. Luke Ronchi and Colin Munro were dismissed for 1 and 2, respectively. Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed Ronchi while Mohammad Hafeez made short work of Munro to put Islamabad on the back-foot. However, Shadab Khan performed with the bat to lead Islamabad’s revival. He made 52 runs from 29 balls before Haris Rauf dismissed him. The Islamabad skipper had some support from Dawid Malan who scored a run-a-ball 22 runs before David Wiese dismissed him. Colin Ingram provided much-needed support to Shadab by contributing with an impressive 30 runs from 14 balls, hitting three sixes. Shaheen bowled exceptionally well by getting rid of Hussain Talat and Amad Butt for 5 and 8 respectively to ensure Lahore were back in the game. But the tail-enders turned the game in favour of Islamabad.

Earlier, all-rounder Hafeez’s unbeaten 98 helped Lahore put up a respectable total against Islamabad. Lahore posted 182 runs on the scoreboard for the loss of six wickets. Lahore, who lost their first match to Multan Sultans at the same venue on Friday, were looking for their maiden victory in the tournament. They got off to a fiery start as opener Fakhar Zaman (33) struck a boundary on the very first ball of the innings. Zaman’s knock from 26 balls included four boundaries. Zaman was supported by Chris Lynn (11), who was dismissed in the third over. Lynn was replaced by Hafeez, who turned into a run machine for his team, with seven sixes and seven boundaries. Islamabad’s Faheem Ashraf dismissed Wiese and Samit Patel for 19 and 10 respectively to ensure none would build a solid partnership with Hafeez.

Brief scores:

Islamabad United 183 for 9 (Shadab Khan 52, Muhammad Musa 17 not out, Shaheen Shah Afridi 4-18) beat Lahore Qalandars 182 for 6 (Mohammad Hafeez 98 not out, Faheem Ashraf 2-42, Shadab Khan 2-14) by one wicket.