PSL 2018, Match 5 Review: Lahore Qalandars suffer back to back defeats

There’s something with the Lahore Qalandars franchise, who are just not finding a way to perform well in PSL despite having an amazing squad. They made all possible alterations and brought in some very big stars into the lineup this season but after two games, it doesn’t seem like the Pre-season changes had an impact on their fate.

Batting first, Sunil Narine and Brendon McCullum provided the ideal start for the Qalandars. Narine went berserk and smoked a 10-ball 28 whilst McCullum too was in the mood. But after Sunil Narine’s dismissal in the 4th over, things changed dramatically. Fakhar Zaman and Brendon McCullum walked back in a span of three deliveries and they had lost their top 3 at the end of the Powerplay.

Their middle order had a catastrophic outing dealing with the Gladiators’ bowlers. Mohammad Nawaz bowled one of the spells in the tournament’s history, registering figures of 2/4 in 4 overs. After completing 50 in the first four overs, the Qalandars could manage just 119 runs on the board losing 9 wickets. Jofra Archer returned with figures of 3/23 in four overs.

A walk in the park for the Gladiators

The Quetta Gladiators had absolutely no problems chasing down this paltry target. Senior player Asad Shafiq played the second-fiddle whilst the veteran Shane Watson went bonkers. The former Australian all-rounder came out with flying colors after bowling brilliantly in the first game, a good start to the season for him personally.

The duo made an absolute mockery of the target, adding 92 runs for the first wicket in 11.4 overs. All the bowlers including the likes of Sunil Narine were traveling to all parts, which didn’t help their cause at all. Yasir Shah too was very expensive on the day and Narine and he gave away 78 runs combined in 8 overs.

Watson completed a breathtaking half-century and got dismissed for a well-made 66 off 42 balls. This innings from him included 5 fours and 5 sixes and in the end, it was Sunil Narine who got his wicket. Umar Amin and Asad Shafiq completed the job for the Gladiators and finished the game in 14 overs, which did a world of good for their net run-rate.

Brief Scores

Lahore Qalandars: 119/9 in 20 overs (Brendon McCullum 30; Jofra Archer 3/23, Mohammad Nawaz 2/4)

Quetta Gladiators: 120/1 in 14 overs (Shane Watson 66, Asad Shafiq 38)

Player of the match: Mohammad Nawaz