PSL 2018, Match 28 Review: Islamabad United finish at the top of the table

It was a clash between the Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United, two teams topping the points table and it was meant to be entertaining. It was a low-scoring and nail-biting game at Sharjah which kept everyone on the edge of their seats and eventually, the Islamabad contingent ended up on the winning side. Whilst Quetta have already completed their games, Islamabad has one more game remaining.

The Gladiators won the toss earlier and elected to bat first. The game played on the same pitch provided some runs on the board for the team batting first, but that didn’t happen this time around. It was not just the pitch assisting the bowlers, but also the batsmen playing some loose shots on occasions which led to their downfall.

Openers Jason Roy and Shane Watson didn’t find it easy in the first few overs and both these players were dismissed inside the first 6 overs. English legend Kevin Pietersen too failed to make his mark, but Umar Amin steadied the ship alongside his skipper Sarfraz Ahmed. Both players were a little defensive, but that was the need of the hour.

Sarfraz managed to pick up some pace and scored a few invaluable boundaries during his stay. His innings raised the expectations of the crowd and many felt 160 as on cards. But Faheem Ashraf weaved magic with the ball in hand and struck gold. The youngster picked three crucial wickets in the middle order to unsettle the batsmen in the middle overs.

Sarfraz fell just short of his fifty in the final few overs and they didn’t get the finish they wanted. The Gladiators registered 147 runs on board losing 7 wickets. Ashraf registered mind-boggling figures of 3/19 in his 4 overs, which was the main reason behind Islamabad restricting them to such a moderate total.

Duminy and Talat drive Islamabad home

Although the target wasn’t too big and Islamabad United got off to a good start, the Gladiators’ bowling contingent made things interesting on occasions. The amount of grit and determination they showed towards the end was brilliant, but if only they had a better score on the board, things would’ve been different.

Luke Ronchi always comes out with a mindset to bang the bowlers, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. This time, it didn’t and he was dismissed in the second over. Alex Hales and JP Duminy made full use of the field restrictions and struck a few timely boundaries. Their scoring rate was close to 9 in the Powerplay and soon after that, Hales walked back.

Duminy added another good partnership with Shadab Khan. The youngster assisted the senior South African all-rounder brilliantly. Both these players added 33 runs for the 3rd wicket but Shadab’s wicket in the 12th over added life to the game. Their bowlers hit back hard and made the batters work hard for every run.

In this precarious situation, Hussain Talat walked out and played a few big shots. That got the required rate under control and Duminy could easily complete his fifty. Asif Ali came out to hit a couple of sixes towards the end and finished the game in style. Although the target was chased with 10 balls remaining, the game went muc closer than expected.

Brief Scores

Quetta Gladiators: 147/7 in 20 overs (Umar Amin 28, Sarfraz Ahmed 43; Faheem Ashraf 3/19)

Islamabad United: 149/4 in 18.2 overs (JP Duminy 54; Rahat Ali 2/33)

Player of the match: JP Duminy