HBL PSL 2016 – 1st Match: Islamabad United vs Quetta Gladiators

Quetta beat Islamabad convincingly courtesy Mohammad Nawaz and Luke Wright

The opening ceremony set the stage pretty well to mark the beginning of the very first Pakistan Super League, and its first match did not disappoint! Islamabad United lost the toss and they were sent in to bat by Quetta Gladiators. It certainly seemed to be the right decision as the Gladiators got off to a brilliant start. Anwar Ali started off the innings with a maiden, and after that it was the Muhammad Nawaz show. The slow left armer bowled out Shane Watson and Sam Billings in quick succession and it was all downhill for Islamabad United after that. After 10 overs, United could only manage a mere 34 runs for the loss of 4 wickets.

The captain Misbah Ul Haq came on to the crease and looked to steady the innings, as he always does, but found wickets falling all around him. Mohammad Nawaz ended up with figures of 4-0-13-4, and by the 15th over, Islamabad United were 64/6. Out stepped Andre Russell, a little later than what was expected, and turned on the fireworks. He smashed Umar Gul all over the park, and Misbah joined in on the fun too. Together, they tried to salvage the innings and added a quick fire 57 runs for the seventh wicket partnership, which helped United reach a total of 128/7, which at one point seemed improbable.

Luke Wright came out all guns blazing for the Gladiators and got them off to a splendid start. He took on all the bowlers and was in no mood for mercy as Quetta scored their first 50 runs in less than 4 overs. Ahmad Shehzad was looking to support his partner but could not stay on the pitch for long, as he chipped towards the bowler Imran Khalid for an easy catch. Kevin Pietersen fell cheaply soon after while Wright raced to his half century in only 31 deliveries and made sure the Gladiators were always in control of the match.

After 10 overs Quetta were 86/2, and it was only a matter of time before they finished things off. Luke Wright was the top scorer of the match with an unbeaten 86 from 53 balls as Quetta Gladiators won the first match convincingly by 8 wickets. Islamabad United will certainly look to pick themselves up from this, while there were many encouraging signs for the Gladiators. We can expect a lot from them in the coming weeks if they keep playing like this.

1st Match: Islamabad United vs Quetta Gladiators | Quetta Gladiators won by 8 wickets

Match Details

Toss	Quetta Gladiators, who chose to field	Tournament	HBL Pakistan Super League 2016
Umpires	Shozab Raza (Pakistan) and JS Wilson	Match Date	04 Feb 2016
Match Referee	Mohammad Anees (Pakistan)	Ground	Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
TV Umpire	Rashid Riaz (Pakistan)
Player of Match	Mohammad Nawaz (Quetta Gladiators)

Islamabad United Innings			R	M	B	4s	6s
1	Shane Watson	b Mohammad Nawaz	15	0	27	1	0
2	Sharjeel Khan	c Mohammad Nabi b Zulfiqar Babar	10	0	11	0	1
3	Umar Amin	c Luke Wright b Umar Gul	0	0	4	0	0
4	Babar Azam	c Mohammad Nabi b Mohammad Nawaz	15	0	18	1	0
5	Sam Billings †	b Mohammad Nawaz	2	0	4	0	0
6	Misbah ul Haq *	c Umar Gul b Anwar Ali	41	0	28	4	1
7	Imran Khalid	c Mohammad Nabi b Mohammad Nawaz	4	0	6	0	0
8	Andre Russell	not out	35	0	20	4	2
9	Samuel Badree	not out	2	0	2	0	0
10	Mohammad Irfan	Did not bat
11	Rumman Raees	Did not bat
Extra		w 4	4
Total		7 wickets; 20.0 overs;	128	6.4 runs per over

Fall of wickets

1-21 ( Sharjeel Khan, 5.0 ) ;

2-24 ( Umar Amin, 6.2 ) ;

3-28 ( Shane Watson, 8.0 ) ;

4-32 ( Sam Billings, 9.1 ) ;

5-56 ( Babar Azam, 12.5 ) ;

6-63 ( Imran Khalid, 14.2 ) ;

7-120 ( Misbah ul Haq , 18.5 ) ;

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Wides
Anwar Ali	3.0	1	21	1	2
Zulfiqar Babar	4.0	0	36	1	0
Mohammad Nabi	4.0	0	20	0	1
Umar Gul	3.0	0	30	1	1
Mohammad Nawaz	4.0	0	13	4	0
Akbar-ur-Rehman	2.0	0	8	0	0

Quetta Gladiators Innings			R	M	B	4s	6s
1	Luke Wright	not out	86	0	53	11	4
2	Ahmed Shehzad	c & b Imran Khalid	11	0	9	2	0
3	Kevin Pietersen	lbw Imran Khalid	8	0	12	0	0
4	Mohammad Nawaz	not out	22	0	22	1	0
5	Anwar Ali	Did not bat
6	Elton Chigumbura	Did not bat
7	Mohammad Nabi	Did not bat
8	Umar Gul	Did not bat
9	Akbar-ur-Rehman	Did not bat
10	Zulfiqar Babar	Did not bat
11	Sarfraz Ahmed * †	Did not bat
Extra		lb 2, w 3	5
Total		2 wickets; 16.0 overs;	132	8.25 runs per over

Fall of wickets

1-53 ( Ahmed Shehzad, 4.3 ) ;

2-73 ( Kevin Pietersen, 8.4 ) ;

Bowling	Overs	Runs	Wickets	Wides
Mohammad Irfan	3.0	33	0	0
Samuel Badree	3.0	25	0	0
Andre Russell	2.0	31	0	0
Imran Khalid	4.0	20	2	0
Rumman Raees	2.0	8	0	2
Shane Watson	2.0	13	0	1

Match Notes

Islamabad United Inning

Islamabad United : 50 runs in 12.0 overs (72 balls), Extras 1
Islamabad United : 100 runs in 17.4 overs (106 balls), Extras 2
7th Wicket : 50 runs in 20 balls
(Misbah ul Haq 13
, Andre Russell 25

, Ex 1)
Innings Break : Islamabad United – 128/7 in 20.0 overs
(Samuel Badree 2
, Andre Russell 35)

Quetta Gladiators Inning

Quetta Gladiators : 50 runs in 3.5 overs (23 balls), Extras 0
1st Wicket : 50 runs in 23 balls
(Ahmed Shehzad 42
, Luke Wright 11

, Ex 0)
Luke Wright : 50 off 31 balls
(
7 x 4 2 x 6 )
Quetta Gladiators : 100 runs in 12.0 overs (72 balls), Extras 4
3rd Wicket : 100 runs in 41 balls
(Mohammad Nawaz 32
, Luke Wright 22

, Ex 1)