Lahore Qalandars beat Islamabad United by six wickets in an easy win with 10 balls remaining in the fourth match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2017, being played at Dubai Cricket Stadium.
Jason Roy scored a promising 50 and went unbeatable till the last ball.
They reached the mark of 100 runs by the end of 12th over. Opener Jason Roy and batsman Umar Akmal played a sensible game while rotating the strike and hitting timely boundaries.
Umar Akmal lost his wicket at a time, when Qalandars were in their full boom. Shane Watson was the one to send him to pavilion. He was followed by bowling star Elliot, who lost his wicket in the hands of Saeed Ajmal while trying to hit a six. It was the much needed wicket by Islamabad United.
Sunil Narine came in as Elliot left the crease and presented Shane Watson with 1 four and 2 sixes in the same over.
Lahore Qalandars had made 46 runs at the loss of two wickets at the end of fifth over, providing 21 runs in the very first over as they chase Islamabad United's 159 runs target in the fourth match.
Skipper Brendon McCullum was caught out on Rumman Raees' full-length delivery after scoring 25 runs off 10 balls, including 4 fours and 1 six.
Fakhar Zaman came in at number 3, and returned to pavilion after scoring just 5 runs. Mohammad Sami took the catch off his own ball.
Islamabad United's innings:
Skipper Misbah ul Haq and Shadab Khan team up to pile up 159 runs’ target for Lahore Qalandars, who seemed quite balanced after making openers, Sam Billings and Dwayne Smith, out.
Islamabad United openers Sam Billings and Dwayne Smith had a good opening stand of 70 runs for their team as they kept on scoring boundaries while rotating strike.
Sam Billings had scored 37 runs off 28 balls with the help of 4 fours and 1 six when he was caught out by GD Elliott in the 10th over.
Smith was also caught out in the same over by Elliot, who seems doing it all.
Islamabad United had scored 76 runs at the end of 10th over with the loss of two wickets.
Elliot was the key baller from Lahore Qalandars’ side, who took four wickets and kept the game leveled.
Haddin was also caught out off the ball by Elliot, who claimed both openers earlier. He could score just 9 runs off 15 balls.
Sunil Narine claimed Asif Ali’s wicket, who could score just 1 run before making its way back to pavilion.
Shane Watson, previous match’ superstar, was the fourth prey of Elliot. Umar Akmal took his catch on long on.
Islamabad United had made 100 runs by the end of 15 overs, as Watson left for the pavilion.
Earlier, Lahore Qalandars had won the toss against Islamabad United and invited the rivals to bat first in the fourth match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2017, which is being played at the Dubai Cricket Stadium Saturday.
Suffering from match-fixing scandal, Islamabad United made three changes to their squad that are Rumman Raees for Muhammad Irfan, Asif Ali for Sharjeel Khan, and Shadab Khan for Imad Butt.
Jason Roy was declared man of the match for his stunning performance.
Teams:
Islamabad United
Misbah ul Haq (capt), Mohammad Sami, Saeed Ajmal, Asif Ali, Rumman Raees, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Sam Billings, Dwayne Smith, Imran Khalid, Shadab Khan
Lahore Qalandars
Jason Roy, Brendon McCullum (capt), Fakhar Zaman, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan, GD Elliott, Sohail Tanvir, Sunil Narine, Bilawal Bhatti, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Irfan Jr
