SHARJAH: In yet another thrilling encounter of HBL Pakistan Super League, Lahore Qalandars pipped Islamabad United by one wicket here on Monday night.
In what was a highly dramatic finish, Grant Elliott smashed Mohammad Sami into the stands over long-on to take Qalandars to second spot on the points table.
In a game during which Brendon McCullum’s side looked beaten for much of the chase, Elliott hung around, as he had against South Africa in the 2015 World Cup semi-final, nearly running out of partners.
Off the second ball of the last over, with his side nine wickets down, the 37-year-old grabbed his chance as Sami missed his length on an attempted yorker and Elliott seized on a full length ball to give Lahore two points they desperately needed.
Lahore would have been expected to chase down the target of 146 much more comfortably, but they ran into trouble early on. With McCullum still struggling badly, Islamabad looked like they would scrape out an unlikely win.
Umar Akmal stood between them and victory, showcasing the form that made him the leading run scorer of the PSL last year with 66 off 42 balls to take Lahore within touching distance.
Sunil Narine’s two sixes in his five-ball innings and steely nerves from Elliott took them to the target.
Islamabad did not have enough runs to defend, as no batsman in the top six crossed 20. Poor umpiring decisions did not help, with Dwayne Smith and Misbah given out incorrectly, and at 83 for 6 in the 14th over they were in danger of being bowled out. But emerging players Shadab Khan and Amad Butt forged a plucky 53-run partnership for the seventh wicket, taking Islamabad to a total they so nearly defended.
That Umar has a lot of talent must be the most oft-repeated claim in Pakistan cricket over the last decade. But anyone watching this match would have seen the truth behind the cliché.
In an innings where his teammates could not find the middle of their bats if someone handed them a flashlight, Umar went about the chase by combining grit with awesome power-hitting. He came to the crease with his side at 29 for 2, and was dismissed lbw with the score at 110. Of the 81 runs Lahore scored while Umar was at the crease, he made 66.
Elliott’s last-ball six only happened because he was standing on the shoulders of Umar.
Aamer Yamin, playing his first game this season, was outstanding in the Powerplay: skidding off the surface and tailing into the right-handers to cramp them for room. It particularly flustered Rafatullah Mohmand, who played a strange innings in any case, being dropped twice before he was caught on the third offering during his 13-ball 16.
Brad Haddin too fell victim to a Yamin inswinger, failing to adjust his feet as he inside edged a swipe that knocked over his leg stump.
Even though Yamin was lucky to dismiss Misbah — replays showed he had missed a ball the umpire believed he had edged — there was nothing fortunate about his performance, which figures of 4-0-17-3 illustrated effectively.
The Lahore innings began with an absorbing mini-narrative as McCullum searched for his lost form, trapped between his instinct to hit every ball out of the stadium and his desire not to be dismissed cheaply again.
It included a riveting cat-and-mouse affair between the former New Zealand captain and the in-form Sami, who understood exactly what the batsman wanted to do, following him down the leg side whenever he tried to free his arms.
Lahore surged to the second place, bumping Islamabad United down to third. Both sides have six points, but McCullum’s men boast a slightly superior net run rate. —with inputs from agencies
Lahore Qalandars won toss
Islamabad United
D R Smith lbw b Yasir 20
Rafatullah Mohmand c Rizwan b Aamer 18
†B J Haddin b Aamer 1
B M Duckett b Yasir 14
*Misbah-ul-Haq c Rizwan b Aamer 16
S R Watson lbw b Narine 7
Shadab Khan run out 42
Amad Butt c McCullum b Sohail 17
M Sami not out 1
Extras (lb 6, w 3) 9
Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) 145
Did not bat: M Irfan, Rumman Raees
Fall: 1-32, 2-37, 3-43, 4-73, 5-79, 6-83, 7-136, 8-145
Bowling: Sohail 4-0-36-1; Aamer 4-0-17-3; Narine 4-0-20-1; Yasir 4-0-27-2 (1w); Irfan (4) 3-0-27-0; Elliott 1-0-12-0 (1w)
Lahore Qalandars
C S Delport c Shadab b Irfan 12
*B B McCullum c Misbah b Rumman 11
Fakhar Zaman lbw b Shadab 6
Umar Akmal lbw b Shadab 66
†M Rizwan b Watson 3
M Irfan (4) run out 0
G D Elliott not out 26
S P Narine lbw b Rumman 12
Sohail Tanvir c Smith b Rumman 1
Aamer Yamin c Smith b Sami 0
Yasir Shah not out 0
Extras (b 4, nb 5) 9
Total (9 wickets; 19.2 overs) 146
Fall: 1-27, 2-29, 3-35, 4-54, 5-69, 6-110, 7-134, 8-140, 9-140
Bowling: Irfan 4-0-22-1; Sami 3.2-0-26-1 (1nb); Rumman 4-0-26-3; Shadab 4-0-28-2; Watson 3-0-25-1; Amad 1-0-15-0
Result: Lahore Qalandars won by 1 wicket
Points: Lahore Qalandars 2, Islamabad United 0
Man of the Match: Umar Akmal (Lahore Qalandars)
Umpires: Ahmed Shahab (Pakistan) and Ahsan Raza (Pakistan). TV umpire: Rashid Riaz (Pakistan). Match referee: R S Mahanama (Sri Lanka)
Points Table
Teams M W L T N/R Pts
QG 5 3 1 0 1 7
LQ 6 3 3 0 0 6
IU 6 3 3 0 0 6
PZ 6 2 3 0 1 5
KK 5 2 3 0 0 4