Kolkata: It was a nightmarish outing for Quetta Gladiators for the second match on the trot when South African David Miller took them to the cleaners as Peshawar Zalmi scored an emphatic 61-run run in their Pakistan Super League match in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Man of the Match Miller, who seemed to be striking the ball well after a while this season, hit 73 off 46 balls and West Indian Rovman Powell provided an ideal flourish with a quickfire 43 off 19 balls to propel Peshawar to 197-5.
Chasing a big total, Quetta skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed topscored with 36 but his team lost wickets in clusters against the pace trio of giant Mohammad Irfan (3-27), Umaid Asif (2-17), and Wahab Riaz (2-20) to finish at 136-9. As many as five Quetta batsmen went for ducks as they continued to languish at the bottom of the standings.
For the second consecutive day, Quetta bowlers were battered by a left-hander after Islamabad United’s Colin Munro smacked 90 from 36 in 10 overs on Thursday and inflicted a 10-wicket defeat on Quetta.
Quetta bowlers began well as they restricted Peshawar to 67-2 by the halfway mark. However, Miller and discarded Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal (59) dealt a counterpunch with a 125-run third-wicket stand off 72 balls. Quetta, yet again, faltered and conceded 130 runs off the last 10 overs.
Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz (2-33), who picked up the early wickets of Haider Ali and Shoaib Malik, conceded 20 off his last over, Cameron Delport went for 25 off his solitary over and legspinner Zahid Mahmood was pounded for 53 off his three wicketless overs.
Quetta’s woes were compounded when veteran batsman Faf du Plessis collided with Mohammad Hasnain in the outfield and the South African was taken to the hospital for a precautionary checkup. Incidentally, Andre Russell, their West Indian allrounder suffered a blow on the helmet against Islamabad United on Thursday.
Hassan Ali leaves for Pakistan
Meanwhile in a blow for Islamabad United, their international fast bowler Hassan Ali has decided to return to Pakistan due to family concerns and will not be unavailable to the franchise for the remainder of the tournament.
In a statement, Hassan said: “I want to say to all Islamabad United fans, unfortunately due to personal reasons I have to pull out of the remaining PSL matches. Some things are more important than cricket and nothing is more important than family. I am thankful to Islamabad United for their support and understanding. This team truly is a family that stands with you through thick and thin. I wish the team very best of luck for the remaining PSL matches.”
Captain Shadab Khan said: “We understand Hassan’s situation right now, family always comes first. We wish Hassan the very best of luck. He will obviously be a huge loss to our team and the tournament, but some things are more important than cricket. At Islamabad United, we have always looked after each other like a family and we will continue to do so.”
