Rassie van der Dussen’s brilliant 44-ball 64 and Shaheen Shah Afridi’s belligerent 14-ball 30 powered Lahore Qalandars to their first victory of the tournament against Islamabad United in the ninth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.
ISLAMABAD UNITED'S INNINGS
Chasing a target of 162-7, the home team were skittled out for 145 in the final ball of the 19th over. With Faheem Ashraf remained top scorer by smoking unbeaten 31-ball 41, complimenting with four boundaries and one six.
With the exception of Ashraf, only Azam Khan (29 off 13) and Naseem Shah (27 off 16) had showed some resistance with the bat. Azam clobbered three boundaries and two sixes, while Naseem motored two boundaries and two sixes.
Earlier on, the United had lost their linchpin in Alex Hales for two-ball duck, courtesy Shaheen Shah Afridi’s brilliance with the bowl.
Colin Munro could not launched big shots and made his way back to the pavilion by scoring 16-ball 52 as he got runout.
Other batters, who failed to provide impetus to the United’s run chase were Agha Salman (4), Shadab Khan (7), Jordan Cox (7), Imad Wasim (4), Hunain Shah (3) and Rumman Raees (2).
For the Qalandars, Zaman Khan (4-37) was outstanding with the bowl and went on to scoop up four wickets.
Shaheen Shah Afridi (2-32) bagged two wickets.
David Wiese (1-19), Jahandad Khan (1-15) and Ahsan Hafeez (1-20) took a scalp each.
Tayyab Abbas (0-15) and Sikandar Raza (0-7) remained wicketless.
It's match day again!
— Islamabad United (@IsbUnited) March 6, 2024
Tomorrow, we face Karachi Kings with the spirit of resilience. Time to regroup, refocus and bounce back stronger than ever!
Together, we rise. 🙌#IUvKK #HBLPSL9 #UnitedWeWin pic.twitter.com/KckZm64wSG
LAHORE QALANDARS' INNINGS
After being put into bat, the Qalandars were off to a terrible start and looking nowhere settled during the match.
None of the Qalandars batters looked settle on the wicket, with the exception of Rassie van der Dussen (64 off 44), Shaheen Shah Afridi (30 off 14) and David Wiese (24 off 11).
It was Rassie van der Dussen, who had once again shown resilience with the willow and went on to rack key partnerships with Shaheen and Wiese each.
Rassie van der Dussen and Shaheen compiled 25-ball 46 to provide the impetus to the Qalandars’ innings.
David Wiese also formed a crucial 31-run partnership off 15 balls along with Rassie van der Dussen.
The partnerships paved way for the visitors to put fighting 162-7 on the scorecard against the United.
For the United, Rumman Raees (2-19) showed experience with the bowl, picking up two wickets.
Shadab Khan (1-23), Imad Wasim (1-24) and Faheem Ashraf (1-28) took a scalp each.
Finally - 1st Victory#IUvLQ #HBLPSL9 #KhulKeKhel #QalandarBrothers pic.twitter.com/wRbJ22nTtc
— Lahore Qalandars (@lahoreqalandars) March 6, 2024
PLAYER OF MATCH
Rassie van der Dussen bagged player of the match award for his whirlwind's knock.
🌟 Player of the Match 🌟#HBLPSL9 | #KhulKeKhel | #IUvLQ pic.twitter.com/mkX7yFM2kT
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) March 6, 2024
TOSS
The United had elected to bowl first against Qalandars in the 23rd match of the ninth edition of the PSL at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi.
Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Shai Hope, Sikandar Raza, Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti, David Wiese, Shaheen Afridi (c), Jahandad Khan, Zaman Khan, and Tayyab Abbas
Islamabad United Won the Toss and Chose to Field First #IUvLQ #HBLPSL9 #KhulKeKhel #QalandarBrothers pic.twitter.com/GZpnmDLiFP
— Lahore Qalandars (@lahoreqalandars) March 6, 2024
Islamabad United: Shadab Khan (c), Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Salman Ali Agha, Azam Khan (wk), Jordan Cox, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Hunain Shah, Naseem Shah, Rumman Raees
No changes in the winning combination!
— Islamabad United (@IsbUnited) March 6, 2024
Keep ROARING, #Sherus🦁
Powered by @foodpanda_pk #IUvLQ #HBLPSL9 pic.twitter.com/rl55xDc1Pd
