Islamabad United beat Lahore Qalandars by 1 wicket in scintillating contest

Islamabad United defeated Lahore Qalandars by one wicket in their Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 clash at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Sunday.

This is the second victory for Islamabad United in this year's PSL. Muhammad Musa, who could not shine with the ball today despite picking wickets, made up for it as he led his side to victory with a six and two boundaries.

Right off the bat, United landed in hot waters as they lost openers Luke Ronchi (1) and Colin Munro (2) in the first and third over respectively.

Skipper Shadab Khan (52) and Dawid Malan (22) gave the team some stability until the latter got out in the eighth over. Shadab held the ground and scored a quick half-century off 29 balls. He struck three boundaries and four sixes.

Shaheen Shah Afridi stood out among his peers as he picked 10-3 in his three overs.

Lahore Qalandars' innings

Lahore Qalandars had posted 182 runs on the scoreboard with the loss of six wickets largely thanks to an unbeaten 98-run knock by Mohammad Hafeez.

The Qalandars, who lost their first match to Multan Sultans at the same venue on Friday, are looking for their maiden victory in the tournament.

They got off to a fiery start as opener Fakhar Zaman (33) struck a boundary on the very first ball of the innings. Zaman was supported by Chris Lynn (11), who was dismissed by Musa in the third over.

Lynn was replaced by Mohammad Hafeez, who turned into a run machine for his team, with seven sixes and seven boundaries.

Zaman (33) seemed to be headed towards a bigger score but was bowled by United skipper Shadab Khan in the 11th over. Shadab also dismissed Dane Vilas in the 13th over.

Though the Qalandars lost wickets at regular intervals, the runs never stopped coming mainly due to a consistent Hafeez, who held the fort for the team.

Earlier, Islamabad United had won the toss and elected to field.

Islamabad United won their second match of the season against Multan Sultans by 8 wickets yesterday.

Squads
Islamabad United: Shadab Khan (c), Colin Munro, Luke Ronchi, Colin Ingram, Dawid Malan, Hussain Talat, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Ammad Butt, Ahmed Saifi Abdullah, Musa Khan

Lahore Qalandars: Sohail Akhtar (c), Chris Lynn, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Dane Vilas, David Weise, Samit Patel, Mohammad Faizan Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Usman Shinwari