Lahore Qalandars showcased a brilliant all-round performance and secured a convincing 79-run victory over Quetta Gladiators in the fourth match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Season 10, played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing a formidable target of 220, Quetta’s batting lineup crumbled under pressure and they were bowled out for a mere 140 runs, largely due to a clinical bowling display from the Qalandars.
Lahore captain Shaheen Afridi set the tone early in the innings, 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 to the pavilion without scoring, leaving Quetta struggling at 9-3 in 3.2 overs.
Rilee Rossouw and Kusal Mendis offered a brief period of resistance with a 45-run partnership. Mendis looked threatening, scoring a quickfire 28 off 14 balls before Haris Rauf broke the stand, reducing Quetta to 54-4 in the sixth over.
Rossouw, in excellent form, smashed 44 off just 19 balls, including four boundaries and as many sixes. However, his counter-attacking innings 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 then Abrar Ahmed, securing his third wicket of the match. Asif Afridi then cleaned up the tail-enders, securing a comprehensive 110-run victory for the defending champions.
Earlier, after winning the toss and batting first, Lahore suffered an early setback when Mohammad Naeem was bowled by Abrar for 10. Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique then steadied the innings with a 56-run partnership. Shafique scored a brisk 37 before being dismissed by Akeal.
Fakhar continued his dominant performance with the bat, reaching his 20th PSL half-century. He received good support from Daryl Mitchell, who contributed a composed unbeaten 37 in an 80-run partnership.
Abrar struck again to remove Mitchell, followed shortly by Fakhar’s dismissal after a brilliant innings of 67 off 39 deliveries.
Sam Billings then provided a blistering finish to the Lahore innings, hammering an unbeaten 50 off just 19 balls, propelling Lahore past the 200-run mark. Despite losing Raza and Shaheen cheaply towards the end, 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 took one wicket apiece.
