Sharjeel and Watson leave Qalandars clueless as United dominate
With both teams finally getting off the mark in their previous match ups, the stage was set for a close encounter between two evenly matched sides. Islamabad United were led by Shane Watson in Misbah Ul Haq’s absence, who was rested due to a calf injury, while Lahore Qalandars were without their front line batsman Chris Gayle once again. Islamabad won the toss and elected to field first as Azhar Ali and Cameron Delport came out to open the innings for Lahore. Azhar began stroking the ball early into his innings and smashed Watson for 14 runs in only the second over. Lahore were off to a decent start until Mohammad Sami came in to bowl in the third over. He beat Delport with sheer pace on his very first delivery as he bowled a ripper which struck the middle stump. Naved Yasin came out to the middle next, as Azhar kept the runs flowing. After being put away for two boundaries, Sami struck again to dismiss Azhar Ali in the sixth over, who departed after making 27 runs from 18 deliveries. Fresh from an astounding innings from the last game, Umar Akmal made his way on to the pitch as Lahore were 46/2 after six overs.
Umar Akmal announced himself with some convincing shots, including a gigantic six off Saeed Ajmal which landed on the roof! Ajmal bounced back by dismissing Naved in the same over as Brad Haddin caught a beauty behind the stumps. Just as Qalandars were beginning to score runs quickly, United grabbed the crucial wicket of Akmal as he was caught leg before by the young left arm spinner, Imran Khalid. Islamabad were jubilant after that wicket but Lahore Qalandars gained some momentum through Muhammad Rizwan and Dwayne Bravo who were determined to ensure their side got to a big total once again. Both these batsmen kicked up their gears and went after the bowlers with five overs remaining. Rumman Raees was smashed away for 17 runs in the 17th over as Rizwan looked unstoppable. Bravo kept scoring runs until he got run out through some brilliant fielding by Imran Khalid, departing for 26 from 17. Rizwan played aggressively in the end with some fantastic batting, as he made an impressive 50 from 27 balls, propelling Lahore to a decent 166/6 in their allotted overs.
Shane Watson and Sharjeel Khan came out all guns blazing for Islamabad United from the very first over, with Bravo being put away for 14 runs. Sharjeel was in sublime form and made it look all too easy as he hit sixes for fun! Ehsan Adil was taken to the cleaners by Sharjeel, who smashed him for 20 runs in the fourth over through some powerful hitting which left Lahore clueless. Watson was dropped early on by Cameron Delport, a mistake they were made to pay for as he began to free his arms and joined in on the fun. Watson hit the biggest six of the tournament (and there were plenty of big sixes in this match!) against Zafar Gohar, as the two batsmen tore the Qalandars apart. Both these batsmen started bossing the match as the Qalandars bowling were left absolutely clueless. It was raining sixes in Sharjah with both the openers in the form of their life. They quickly raced to their half centuries in quick succession as United looked extremely comfortable at 119/0 after 11 overs.
Watson was dropped once again in the 12th over, something which the Qalandars could not afford at all as the match was already beyond their reach by then. He made sure they were punished by smashing two consecutive sixes off Kevon Cooper right after, and it was only a matter of time before Islamabad wrapped it up. Shane Watson finally departed after a super catch behind the stumps from Muhammad Rizwan off Ehsan Adil, after an outstanding knock of 79 from 47 balls. The opening stand put together 153 runs on the board in what was a brutal partnership. Andre Russell was also sent back to the pavilion but it did not matter at all as Islamabad had pretty much sealed their victory by then. Sharjeel Khan finished the match with back to back sixes as he remained not out after scoring 79 from only 43 deliveries. United won the match by eight wickets, with 4 overs to spare, as Qalandars suffered another soul crushing defeat in the HBLPSL. Islamabad United are flying high after a disappointing start in the league, and have started to play some great cricket. Lahore Qalandars continue to struggle as they remain on the bottom of the points table.
