SHARJAH: Quetta Gladiators rode on punishing half centuries from Shane Watson and Rilee Rossouw to make it three wins in three matches after their eight-wicket mauling of Multan Sultans as action shifted to Sharjah in the HBL PSL on Wednesday. The win — achieved in the 18.3 overs after they overhauled a target of 161 – gives twice runners-up six points as they continued to top the six-team table. Quetta, who won their first two matches in the first leg of the event held in Dubai — rode on a brilliant 40-ball 61 laced with 11 hits to the fence while Rossouw notched a 45-ball 67 with a six and ten boundaries as Quetta made the chase a mere cake-walk. Shoaib Malik hit his second fifty in this HBL PSL edition — sixth in all HBL PSL — with a 37-ball 53 with two sixes and four boundaries while England’s batsman James Vince struck six boundaries in his 17-ball 28 to lift Multan Sultans to 160-8 after they were put into bat on a shiny Sharjah stadium pitch. The defeat — Multan’s second in three games — put them on third behind Peshawar Zalmi ( one win in two games) in the table with just one win. Title holders Islamabad United are fourth while Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars are fifth and sixth respectively. The chase masters Quetta, who won all their matches chasing, were off to another solid start of 39 before Watson found an able ally in Rossouw as they punished Multan bowlers with authority, adding 56 for the second wicket. Watson, who scored 81 not out in his team’s win over Islamabad United, reached his fifth fifty in all HBL PSL, with a straight boundary off Shahid Afridi as Quetta reached 89-1 after ten overs. Watson, who now has 845 runs in 28 HBL PSL matches, second to Peshawar opener Kamran Akmal who has 978 in 36 matches, finally fell to Afridi, with 76 needed for victory. Rossouw also reached his half century off 35 balls with a boundary and single off Andre Russell. He and Umar Akmal (18-ball 17) crossed the finish line during their unbroken 66-run stand for the third wicket as Multan bowlers looked helpless and bite-less. Multan welcomed the arrival of Dan Christian and Vince while Quetta left out misfiring Ahmed Shehzad to include Ahsan Ali in their eleven. Vince was savage on Mohammad Nawaz, clobbering three boundaries in the fourth over of the innings before the left-arm spinner had the last laugh, dismissing him leg-before on review after a confident start of 34. Shan Masood (16-ball 18 with three boundaries) and Laurie Evans (10) took the score to 54 but both fell within the space of ten runs. Masood became one of leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed’s victim off a googly. The Pakistan born Australian is the second best spinner in all Twenty20s – behind India’s Piyush Chawla — on strike rate off googlies. It was Malik who steadied the innings, following his 52 and 31 not out in the previous games, with another responsible knock, lifting Multan with a fourth wicket stand of 73 with Christian. Malik lifted Sohail Tanvir for a huge six towards square-leg to complete his fifty off just 35 deliveries. Christian, fresh from his man of the match display for champions Melbourne Renegades in the BBL final, struck a six in his 19-ball 18. Master blaster Afridi was trapped leg-before for a first-ball duck – much to the disappointment of a near-capacity Sharjah stadium who wanted big sixes off him. Russell was one of three wickets to fall in the last over, smashing three boundaries in 12-ball 18. Irfan Junior was the best Gladiator bowlers, taking 2-32 while young Ghulam Mudassar fetched 2-44. Thursday will see Karachi Kings play former champions Peshawar Zalmi for teams’ third match in the HBL PSL.<doc-sep>Pictures: PCB Quetta Gladiators win by 3 wickets: 148/7 Watch Live on Geo Super Quetta Gladiators' captain Sarfaraz's six hit in the last ball maintained the team's top spot on the table as they defeating Lahore Qalanders in a nail-biting thriller by three wickets with 148 runs, in the 12th match of Pakistan Super League's (PSL) fourth edition. Shane Warson, Rilee Rossouw and Umar Akmal had scored a hefty number of of runs for the Gladiators in the earlier matches but not this time they could not keep up the pace. The winning team had dominated against the Lahore Qalanders in the first innings as well as fast bowler Ghulam Mudassar took two wickets unleashing pressure for the other side. Despite Fakhar Zaman being in good form, he could only deliver three runs before getting knocked out after which Salman Butt joined Sohail Akhtar on the pitch in the first innings. Lahore Qalanders’ captain AB de Villiers in spite of the injury he received continued to bat and led the team to a fair score of 143; However the Gladiators were able to chase the target regardless. On the other hand, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Brendan Taylor were not part of the play today owing to injuries. End of over 20: Quetta Gladiators win with 148/7 Daniel Christian to Sarfaraz, SIX Daniel Christian to Sohail Tanvir, 1 run Daniel Christian to Sarfaraz, 1 run Daniel Christian to Sarfaraz, 2 run Daniel Christian to Sohail Tanvir, 1 run Daniel Christian to Anwar Ali, OUT End of over 19: Quetta Gladiators 137/5 (LQ Target: 144) Haris Rauf to Sarfaraz, 1 run Haris Rauf to Anwar Ali, 1 run Haris Rauf to Mohammad Nawaz, OUT Haris Rauf to Sarfaraz, 1 run Haris Rauf to Sarfaraz, FOUR Haris Rauf to Sarfaraz, no runs End of over 17: Quetta Gladiators 130/5 (LQ Target: 144) David Wiese to Mohammad Nawaz, 2 runs David Wiese to Sarfaraz, 1 run David Wiese to Sarfaraz, FOUR David Wiese to Mohammad Nawaz, 1 run David Wiese to Sarfaraz, 1 run David Wiese to Sarfaraz, FOUR End of over 16: Quetta Gladiators 117/5 (LQ Target: 144) Sandeep Lamichhane to Mohammad Nawaz, no runs Sandeep Lamichhane to Sarfaraz, 1 run Sandeep Lamichhane to Mohammad Nawaz, 1 run Sandeep Lamichhane to Mohammad Nawaz, no runs Sandeep Lamichhane to Sarfaraz, 1 run Sandeep Lamichhane to Mohammad Nawaz, 1 run End of over 15: Quetta Gladiators 113/5 (LQ Target: 144) Haris Rauf to Sarfaraz, no runs Haris Rauf to Sarfaraz, 2 runs Haris Rauf to Sarfaraz, no runs Haris Rauf to Sarfaraz, 2 runs Haris Rauf to Mohammad Nawaz, 1 run Haris Rauf to Mohammad Nawaz, no run End of over 14: Quetta Gladiators 108/5 (LQ Target: 144) Rahat Ali to Mohammad Nawaz, 1 run Rahat Ali to Sarfaraz, 1 run Rahat Ali to Mohammad Nawaz, 1 run Rahat Ali to Mohammad Nawaz, SIX Rahat Ali to Sarfaraz, 1 run Rahat Ali to Sarfaraz, 2 runs End of over 13: Quetta Gladiators 96/5 (LQ Target: 144) Yasir Shah to Mohammad Nawaz, no runs Yasir Shah to Mohammad Nawaz, 2 runs Yasir Shah to Sarfaraz, 1 run Yasir Shah to Mohammad Nawaz, 1 run Yasir Shah to Sarfaraz, 1 run Yasir Shah to Mohammad Nawaz, 1 run End of over 12: Quetta Gladiators 90/5 (LQ Target: 144) David Wiese to Sarfaraz, FOUR David Wiese to Mohammad Nawaz, 1 run David Wiese to Sarfaraz, 1 run David Wiese to Mohammad Nawaz, 1 run David Wiese to Sarfaraz, 1 run David Wiese to Dwyane Smith, OUT End of over 11: Quetta Gladiators 81/4 (LQ Target: 144) Sandeep Lamichhane to Sarfaraz, 1 run Sandeep Lamichhane to Dwyane Smith, 1 run Sandeep Lamichhane to Dwayne Smith no run Sandeep Lamichhane to Sarfaraz, 1 run Sandeep Lamichhane to Dwyane Smith, 1 run Sandeep Lamichhane to Ahsan Ali, OUT End of over 11: Quetta Gladiators 77/3 (LQ Target: 144) Rahat Ali to Ahsan Ali, 1 run Rahat Ali to Sarfaraz, 1 run Rahat Ali to Ahsan Ali, 1 run Rahat Ali to Ahsan Ali, 2 runs Rahat Ali to Ahsan Ali, 2 run Rahat Ali to Ahsan Ali, no runs End of over 10: Quetta Gladiators 70/3 (LQ Target: 144) Haris Rauf to Sarfaraz, 1 runs Haris Rauf to Ahsan Ali, 1 wide Haris Rauf to Sarfaraz, 1 run Haris Rauf to Ahsan Ali, 1 run Haris Rauf to Ahsan Ali, no runs Haris Rauf to Sarfaraz, 1 run Haris Rauf to Sarfaraz, 2 runs End of over 9: Quetta Gladiators 63/3 (LQ Target: 144) Sandeep Lamichhane to Sarfaraz, 1 run Sandeep Lamichhane to Sarfaraz, 2 run Sandeep Lamichhane to Sarfaraz, no runs Sandeep Lamichhane to Ahsan Ali, 1 run Sandeep Lamichhane to Ahsan Ali, SIX Sandeep Lamichhane to Ahsan Ali, no runs End of over 8: Quetta Gladiators 53/3 (LQ Target: 144) Haris Rauf to Sarfaraz, no runs Haris Rauf to Umar Akmal, OUT Haris Rauf to Umar Akmal, no runs Haris Rauf to Ahsan Ali, 1 run Haris Rauf to Umar Akmal, 1 run Haris Rauf to Umar Akmal, FOUR End of over 7: Quetta Gladiators 47/2 (LQ Target: 144) Yasir Shah to Ahsan Ali, FOUR Yasir Shah to Ahsan Ali, no runs Yasir Shah to Umar Akmal, 1 run Yasir Shah to Umar Akmal, no runs Yasir Shah to Ahsan Ali, 1 run Yasir Shah to Ahsan Ali, SIX End of over 6: Quetta Gladiators 35/2 (LQ Target: 144) Sandeep Lamichhane to Umar Akmal, 2 runs Sandeep Lamichhane to Umar Akmal, no runs Sandeep Lamichhane to Umar Akmal, no runs Sandeep Lamichhane to Umar Akmal, no runs Sandeep Lamichhane to Umar Akmal, no runs Sandeep Lamichhane to Ahsan Ali, 1 run End of over 5: Quetta Gladiators 32/2 (LQ Target: 144) Yasir Shah to Ahsan Ali, 1 run Yasir Shah to Ahsan Ali, FOUR Yasir Shah to Ahsan Ali, no runs Yasir Shah to Umar Akmal, 1 run Yasir Shah to Umar Akmal, no runs Yasir Shah to Railee Rossouw, OUT End of over 4: Quetta Gladiators 26/1 (LQ Target: 144) David Wiese to Rilee Rossouw, 1 run David Wiese to Rilee Rossouw, no runs David Wiese to Ahsan Ali, 1 run David Wiese to Rilee Rossouw, 1 run David Wiese to Rilee Rossouw, no runs David Wiese to Ahsan Ali, 1 run End of over 3: Quetta Gladiators 22/1 (LQ Target: 144) Rahat Ali to Ahsan Ali, 1 runs Rahat Ali to Ahsan Ali, 1 wide Rahat Ali to Ahsan Ali, no runs Rahat Ali to Ahsan Ali, no runs Rahat Ali to Rilee Rossouw, 1 run Rahat Ali to Rilee Rossouw, FOUR Rahat Ali to Rilee Rossouw, 1 run End of over 2: Quetta Gladiators 14/1 (LQ Target: 144) Yasir to Rilee Rossouw, no runs Yasir to Rilee Rossouw, no runs Yasir to Rilee Rossouw, FOUR Yasir to Ahsan Ali, 1 run Yasir to Ahsan Ali, 2 run Yasir to Rilee Rossouw, 1 runs End of over 1: Quetta Gladiators 6/1 (LQ Target: 144) Rahat Ali to Rilee Rossouw, 1 run Rahat Ali to Rilee Rossouw, FOUR Rahat Ali to Rilee Rossouw, no runs Rahat Ali to Shane Watson, OUT Rahat Ali to Shane Watson, 1 wide Rahat Ali to Shane Watson, no runs Rahat Ali to Shane Watson, no runs End of Lahore Qalander's Innings: 143/7 Mudassar to Lamichhane, 2 run Mudassar to Lamichhane, 1 run Mudassar to Lamichhane, no runs Mudassar to AB de Villiers, 1 run Mudassar to Lamichhane, 1 run Mudassar to Lamichhane, 1 wide Mudassar to Lamichhane, no runs End of over 19: Lahore Qalanders: 136/7 Sohail Tanvir to AB de Villiers, no run Sohail Tanvir to Yasir Shah, OUT Sohail Tanvir to AB de Villiers, 1 run Sohail Tanvir to Yasir Shah, 1 leg bye Sohail Tanvir to AB de Villiers, 1 run Sohail Tanvir to AB de Villiers, 2 run End of over 18: Lahore Qalanders: 131/6 Mudassar to AB de Villiers, 1 run Mudassar to AB de Villiers, no runs Mudassar to Yasir Shah, 1 run Mudassar to Yasir Shah, no runs Mudassar to Gauhar Ali, OUT Mudassar to AB de Villiers, 1 run End of over 17: Lahore Qalanders: 128/5 Anwar Ali to Gauhar Ali, 2 runs Anwar Ali to AB de Villiers, 1 run Anwar Ali to Gauhar Ali, 1 run Anwar Ali to AB de Villiers, 1 run Anwar Ali to Gauhar Ali, 1 run Anwar Ali to AB de Villiers, 1 run End of over 16: Lahore Qalanders: 121/5 Sohail Tanvir to AB de Villiers, 1 run Sohail Tanvir to Gauhar Ali, 1 run Sohail Tanvir to AB de Villiers, 1 run Sohail Tanvir to David Wiese, OUT Sohail Tanvir to AB de Villiers, 1 run Sohail Tanvir to AB de Villiers, 2 runs End of over 15: Lahore Qalanders: 115/4 Fawad to David Wiese, 2 run Fawad to David Wiese, 2 run Fawad to AB de Villiers, 1 run Fawad to David Wiese, 1 run Fawad to David Wiese, SIX Fawad to David Wiese, 2 runs End of over 14: Lahore Qalanders: 101/4 Anwar Ali to David Wiese, 1 run Anwar Ali to AB de Villiers, 1 run Anwar Ali to David Wiese, 1 run Anwar Ali to AB de Villiers, 1 run Anwar Ali to AB de Villiers, FOUR Anwar Ali to David Wiese, 1 run End of over 13: Lahore Qalanders: 92/4 Fawad to AB de Villiers, no runs Fawad to David Wiese, 1 run Fawad to AB de Villiers, 1 run Fawad to AB de Villiers, 2 runs Fawad to David Wiese, 1 run Fawad to AB de Villiers, 1 run End of over 12: Lahore Qalanders: 86/4 Mohammad Nawaz to AB de Villiers, 1 run Mohammad Nawaz to David Wiese, 1 run Mohammad Nawaz to David Wiese, no runs Mohammad Nawaz to AB de Villiers, 1 run Mohammad Nawaz to AB de Villiers, 2 runs Mohammad Nawaz to David Wiese, 1 run End of over 11: Lahore Qalanders: 80/4 Anwar Ali to David Wiese, 1 run Anwar Ali to David Wiese, no runs Anwar Ali to AB de Villiers, 1 leg bye Anwar Ali to Corey Anderson, OUT Anwar Ali to AB de Villiers, 1 run Anwar Ali to Corey Anderson, 1 run End of over 10: Lahore Qalanders: 76/3 Mohammad Nawaz to AB de Villiers, 2 runs Mohammad Nawaz to Corey Anderson, 1 run Mohammad Nawaz to AB de Villiers, 1 run Mohammad Nawaz to AB de Villiers, no runs Mohammad Nawaz to Corey Anderson, 1 run Mohammad Nawaz to Corey Anderson, SIX End of over 9: Lahore Qalanders: 65/3 Fawad to Corey Anderson, 1 run Fawad to Corey Anderson, 2 run Fawad to AB de Villiers, 1 run Fawad to Corey Anderson, 1 run Fawad to AB de Villiers, 1 run Fawad to AB de Villiers, 2 runs End of over 8: Lahore Qalanders: 57/3 Mohammad Nawaz to Corey Anderson, no runs Mohammad Nawaz to AB de Villiers, 1 run Mohammad Nawaz to AB de Villiers, 2 runs Mohammad Nawaz to Corey Anderson, 1 run Mohammad Nawaz to AB de Villiers, 1 run Mohammad Nawaz to Corey Anderson, 1 run End of over 7: Lahore Qalanders: 51/3 Fawad Ahmed to Corey Anderson, 1 run Fawad Ahmed to Corey Anderson, no runs Fawad Ahmed to Corey Anderson, no runs Fawad Ahmed to Corey Anderson, no runs Fawad Ahmed to AB de Villiers, 1 run Fawad Ahmed to Corey Anderson, 1 run End of over 6: Lahore Qalanders: 48/3 Mudassar to Corey Anderson, 1 run Mudassar to AB de Villiers, 1 run Mudassar to AB de Villiers, FOUR Mudassar to Corey Anderson, 1 run Mudassar to Sohail Akhtar, OUT Mudassar to AB de Villiers, 1 wide Mudassar to Salman Butt, OUT End of over 5: Lahore Qalanders: 40/1 Anwar Ali to Salman Butt, 1 run Anwar Ali to Sohail Akhtar, 1 run Anwar Ali to Sohail Akhtar, SIX Anwar Ali to Sohail Akhtar, no runs Anwar Ali to Salman Butt, 1 run Anwar Ali to Salman Butt, 2 runs Anwar Ali to Salman Butt, no runs End of over 4: Lahore Qalanders: 29/1 Mudassar to Salman Butt, 1 run Mudassar to Salman Butt, 1 wide Mudassar to Salman Butt, 2 runs Mudassar to Salman Butt, no runs Mudassar to Sohail Akhtar, 1 run Mudassar to Sohail Akhtar, no runs Mudassar to Sohail Akhtar, no runs<doc-sep>
The tenth Twenty20 match in the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is one of the two matches scheduled for Friday. It will be played between Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans at 5-00 pm at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. It will be the fourth match in the event for the two teams as both have already played three matches each. Lahore Qalandars played all their three initial matches in Dubai; won one and lost two whereas, Multan Sultans played their first two matches in Dubai and the third in Sharjah. After losing their first match by five wickets to Islamabad United on February 14, Lahore Qalandars emerged victorious by 22 runs against Karachi Kings on February 16 but they lost their third match to Peshawar Zalmi by seven wickets on February 17. Multan Sultans also went through the same fate as they lost their first match to Karachi Kings by seven runs on February 15 and then recorded a five-wicket victory against Islamabad United on February 16, and later they were outclassed by the consistent winners, Quetta Gladiators by eight wickets on February 20 in Sharjah. The highest totals so far by Multan Sultans is 176-9 (vs Karachi Kings) and by Lahore Qalandars 171-8 (vs Islamabad United). Veteran cricketer Shoaib Malik, who is captaining Multan Sultans, has consistently been scoring runs and is the leading run-getter for his team and with 136 (ave 68.00) in three matches with two fifties. He is second among the four batsmen, who have so far scored 100 runs and above in PSL4. The highest scorer for Lahore Qalandars is Fakhar Zaman who has made 97 runs in three matches. Pacer Rahat Ali of Lahore Qalandars is among the leading wicket takers of the PSL4, as he has so far captured eight wickets in three matches whereas his team mate and a sensational discovery in the event Haris Rauf bagged five wickets in three matches. The leading bowlers for Multan Sultans are off-spinner Chris Green, leg-spinner Shahid Afridi and left-arm pacer Junaid Khan, who took three wickets each. Squads Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Sohail Akhtar, AB de Villiers, Anton Devcich, Brendan Taylor, Carlos Brathwaite, Yasir Shah, Rahat Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Agha Salman, Hardus Viljoen, Hassan Khan. Multan Sultans: Shan Masood, James Vince, Tom Moores, Shoaib Malik, Laurie Evans, Andre Russell, Shahid Afridi, Hammad Azam, Daniel Christian, Ali Shafiq, Chris Green, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Steve Smith.