Twitter Reactions: Quetta Gladiators cling on to playoffs’ hopes as they defeat Lahore Qalandars

The Gladiators stay at the bottom and need wins in both their remaining games to have any hopes of making the next round.

By Sabyasachi Chowdhury

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Quetta Gladiators
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Quetta Gladiators. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Quetta Gladiators were in all sorts of trouble in the 2021 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The team, led by Sarfaraz Ahmed, defeated the Lahore Qalandars by 18 runs on Tuesday night at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

With the close win, the Gladiators held on to their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs. The Qalandars, in the meantime, stayed at the second spot in the table.

Gladiators crawl to respectability

After being put in to bat first, the Gladiators got off to a poor start as Usman Khan fell prey to James Faulkner for a duck. But a 58-run stand between Jake Weatherald and Cameron Delport steadied the ship for their team.

In the partnership, Delport had his travails as he got an 11-ball 10 before Rashid Khan rattled his woodwork. In the very next over, Mohammad Hafeez got rid of Weatherald. Weatherald had gotten his eyes in, scoring a 41-ball 48 with eight fours and one six.

Following the two quick wickets, skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and Azam Khan restored sanity as they stitched together a 43-run partnership.

The captain and Khan scored 34* and 33 respectively, making sure that Quetta got up to 158. Faulkner was again the standout bowler for the Qalandars as he got three wickets.

Qalandars slump in another chase

The run-chase didn’t start on a handsome note for the Qalandars as Usman Shinwari sent back Sohail Akhtar for a golden duck. Mohammad Hasnain delivered the body blow, dismissing Zaman for 12. Mohammad Hafeez’s poor form continued as he became Shinwari’s second victim.

Zeeshan Ashraf smashed a six off Khurram Shahzad before getting out to the same bowler in the sixth over. Rashid and Ahmed Daniyal fell and the Qalandars slumped to 66 for seven in the 12th over.

However, Tim David scored 23 runs off Zahoor Khan’s over to bring the Qalandars back in the hunt. But Shinwari came back to get rid of David, who was looking dangerous at a 27-ball 46 with four fours and three sixes. Afridi smacked a four and a six off Hasnain after which Shahzad castled him.

In the last three overs, the Qalandars needed 37 runs and Haris Rauf entertained with one six and two fours off Hasnain. However, the latter made amends and sent Rauf back to end the Qalandars innings at 140 in 18 overs.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to the Quetta Gladiators’ win:

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PSL 2024Lahore QalandarsQuetta Gladiators