Lahore Qalandars exhibited a brilliant performance in all fields and grabbed a convincing victory over Quetta Gladiators by 79 runs in the fourth match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Season 10 played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
- Chasing a daunting target of 220, Quetta crumbled under pressure and were bowled out for just 140 runs, thanks to a clinical bowling display by the Qalandars.
- Lahore captain Shaheen Afridi set the tone early, dismissing Saud Shakeel for just one run in the opening over.
- The Gladiators soon found themselves in deeper trouble as Asif Afridi removed Hassan Nawaz for one, and Shaheen struck again to send Finn Allen back for a duck, leaving Quetta reeling at 9-3 in 3.2 overs.
- Rilee Rossouw and Kusal Mendis provided a brief resistance with a 45-run partnership. Mendis looked threatening with a quickfire 28 off 14 balls before Haris Rauf broke the stand, reducing Quetta to 54-4 in the sixth over.
- Rossouw, in fine touch, smashed 44 off 19 balls, featuring four boundaries and as many sixes. However, his counterattack was cut short by Rishad Hossain, who claimed his maiden PSL wicket.
- The collapse continued as Sikandar Raza dismissed Shoaib Malik for 14 and then removed Akeal Hosein in the same over.
- Rishad returned to dismiss Mohammad Amir, and later Abrar Ahmed, sealing his third wicket of the match. Asif Afridi then cleaned up the tail, securing a massive 110-run win for the defending champions.
- Batting first, Lahore suffered an early blow as Mohammad Naeem was bowled for 10 by Abrar. Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique stabilised the innings with a 56-run partnership. Shafique scored a brisk 37 before falling to Akeal.
- Fakhar continued to dominate with the bat, reaching his 20th PSL fifty. He was well-supported by Daryl Mitchell, who added a composed unbeaten 37 in an 80-run stand.
- Abrar struck again to remove Mitchell, followed shortly by Fakhar’s dismissal after a brilliant 67 off 39 deliveries.
- Sam Billings then provided a blistering finish, hammering an unbeaten 50 off just 19 balls, propelling Lahore past the 200-run mark. Despite losing Raza and Shaheen cheaply, Billings’ explosive knock helped the Qalandars post a commanding total of 220.
- For Quetta, Akeal and Abrar claimed two wickets each, while Faheem Ashraf and Usman Tariq chipped in with one apiece.
