Shadab stars in Islamabad United triumph

LAHORE: Shadab Khan’s all-round performance superseded Mohammad Hafeez’s 98 not out and Shaheen Afridi’s four for 18 as Islamabad United defeated Lahore Qalandars by one wicket in a thrilling contest.

In the seventh match of the ongoing HBL PSL 2020 here at Gaddafi Stadium, United chased down a target of 183 on the penultimate ball of the match on Sunday night to register their second win in as many days.

Qalandars had set up a mammoth 182 for six, after being asked to bat, on the back of Hafeez’s unbeaten 57-ball 98 in which the all-rounder struck seven fours and seven sixes.

He crafted a 67-run stand for the second wicket with Fakhar Zaman (33 off 26) after Chris Lynn (11 off 8) was dismissed in the third over by Musa Khan, who later starred with the bat with a crucial 17 not out off 11 balls.

United’s Faheem Ashraf and Shadab took two wickets each for 42 and 14 runs, respectively. United had a shaky start as both their openers, Luke Ronchi (one off four) and Colin Munro (two off four), were dismissed in the first two overs.

Captain Shadab led the recovery effort and crafted a 57-run partnership with Dawid Malan, who scored 22 runs from 22 balls. He scored 52 off 29 balls, hitting three fours and four sixes. Colin Ingram provided further impetus with a quickfire 14-ball 30, hitting three sixes and a four.

Pacer Shaheen, who had removed Ronchi in the first over, added three scalps to his tally with the wickets of Asif Ali (18 off 11), Hussain Talat (five off seven) and Amad Butt (eight off four) and returned four off 18 in four overs.

With 20 runs remaining in the last three overs and one wicket in hand, Musa took United over the line, hitting two fours and a six. For his all-round performance, Shadab, the Islamabad United captain, was named man of the match. The HBL PSL 2020 action resumes on Wednesday when Multan Sultan take on Peshawar Zalmi in Multan.