DUBAI: Shane Watson scored a destructive fifty, while Sohail Tanvir took 4-21 as Quetta Gladiators trounced defending champions Islamabad United by seven wickets in the HBL Pakistan Super League on Sunday.
Watson, the former Australia all-rounder, hit four sixes and six boundaries in his 55-ball 81.Earlier, Islamabad found themselves wobbling at 8 for 3 after they were put into bat by Quetta. Tanvir’s double-wicket maiden had put them under early pressure. The left-arm pacer dismissed Luke Ronchi on the very first ball caught by Ahmed Shahzad before dismissing the promoted Shadab Khan with a caught and bowled.
Rizwan Hussain was trapped lbw by Mohammad Nawaz which made things more difficult for Islamabad.It took spirited rearguards from Asif Ali (36), Hussain Talat (30), and Wayne Parnell — who smashed 41 off 20 — to take them out of trouble.
Despite the best efforts of Fawad Ahmed, the other star bowler alongside Tanvir, Islamabad demonstrated their batting depth, posting a respectable 157.Given the low-scoring games in Dubai the other night, it appeared a good total, but the brilliance of Umar Akmal turned it into something of a stroll. After Ahmed Shehzad and Rilee Rossouw perished early, he took charge with Watson happy to play second fiddle. The struggling Shadab Khan came in for the greatest punishment, several boundaries and one six bringing the asking rate sharply down.
When an excellent catch from Cameron Delport finally dismissed Umar, the required rate was down to 7. Watson hadn’t yet entered top gear, and when he did, Islamabad found themselves about 25 runs short, with his superb knock taking Quetta home with 10 balls to spare.
Islamabad’s fate was sealed when Parnell bowled his first over to Umar. With Quetta at 33 for 2 and scoring at just 6.6, a win was by no means assured, but Umar smashing two fours and a six off that over set the template for how the chase would go. With Watson joining in, Islamabad failed to bowl well enough to really trouble the Quetta batsmen.
Mohammad Sami bowled Watson on 29 only to realise he had done so off a no-ball, while Rumman Raees dropped the Australian off his own bowling when he was on 18.
Umar and Fawad played their parts, but it was Watson and Tanvir that put their side in pole position.Tanvir took four wickets and claimed an incredible diving catch.
Shadab not as consistent in hitting his spots. The googly was often ill-judged and the quicker ones, as is often the case on slow UAE pitches, merely helped the batsmen’s cause. In low-scoring games like this one, Islamabad needed wickets from Pakistan’s star spin bowler. Instead, Shadab went at nine and a half without taking a wicket.
Quetta Gladiators won toss
Islamabad United
†L Ronchi c Ahmed b Sohail 0
Rizwan Hussain lbw b Nawaz 5
Shadab Khan c & b Sohail 0
C S Delport c Sohail b Fawad 19
Hussain Talat b Fawad 30
Asif Ali c Nawaz b Sohail 36
Faheem Ashraf c Ahmed b Fawad 1
W D Parnell c Umar b Sohail 41
S R Patel not out 15
*Mohammad Sami not out 2
Extras (b 4, lb 3, w 1) 8
Total (8 wickets, 20 overs) 157
Did not bat: Rumman Raees
Fall: 1-0, 2-0, 3-8, 4-58, 5-76, 6-82, 7-117, 8-144
Bowling: Sohail 4-1-21-4; Ghulam 3.4-0-37-0; Nawaz 4-0-24-1; Irfan 4-0-47-0; Fawad 4-0-15-3; Smith 0.2-0-6-0
Quetta Gladiators
S R Watson not out 81
Ahmed Shehzad b Patel 2
R R Rossouw c Sami b Rumman 10
Umar Akmal c & b Delport 44
*†Sarfraz Ahmed not out 15
Extras (b 4, lb 1, nb 1, w 3) 9
Total (3 wickets, 18.2 overs) 161
Yet to bat: Mohammad Nawaz, D R Smith, Ghulam Mudassar, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan, Fawad Ahmed
Fall: 1-7, 2-32, 3-94
Bowling: Patel 3-0-15-1; Faheem 3-0-24-0; Rumman 3.2-0-28-1; Parnell 1-0-16-0; Shadab 4-0-38-0; Sami 1-0-14-0; Delport 3-0-21-1
Result: Quetta Gladiators won by 7 wickets
Man of the Match: Shane Watson (QG)
Umpires: Ranmore Martinesz (Sri Lanka) and Asif Yaqoob (Pakistan). TV Umpire: Michael Gough (England). Match Referee: Mohammed Anees (Pakistan)