Islamabad United faced off defending champions Quetta Gladiators in the opening game of the 5th edition of the Pakistan Super League (the first one to be played completely in Pakistan) and like their first game ever in the PSL this was a game United would like to forget quickly.
After being sent in to bat with the coin toss not going Shadab Khan’s way, ISLU did not have the ideal start losing Colin Munro off the first ball of the PSL. But the side managed to pull things back and end the powerplay with 55 runs for the loss of two wickets.
Dawid Malan was the star batsman, with his fluent innings of 64 runs in 40 balls. He attacked Fawad Ahmed ensuring he never settled in and his partnership with Hussain Talat laid a good platform for the side which batted till 9 today. Talat’s dismissal which happened in the first ball of the 11th over was the start of the collapse triggered by Hasnain, which saw the team added a further 62 runs for the loss of 8 wickets, United was unable to bat out their full quota of overs.
There is no excuse for how Islamabad’s lower order batted with their inability to capitalise on the platform set by Malan and Talat. With the pitch flat, the side should have ideally been aiming for a score in excess of 180, but that fell apart.
Defending 168 on this Karachi ground which has seen the average PSL run rate at 8.76 was never going to be an easy task but United sensed a chance with Musa bowling a wicket maiden and Akif Javed getting rid of Watson with a good piece of fielding off his own bowling. The powerplay overs saw them conceded just 36 runs, with the required run rate increasing from 8.45 runs per over at the start of the innings to now 9.5 RPO.
Islamabad United’s defence of 168 fell apart when Azam Khan started unleashing his big-hitting ability taking the Islamabad captain for 31 runs in the 13 balls he faced him, Amad Butt as the 5th bowler leaked runs and the pressure created by Akif Javed and Musa Khan disappeared in a space of few overs.
With 6 overs to go Quetta had the game their hands needing just 7 runs an over, two good overs from Akif Javed and Faheem Ashraf where they picked 2 wickets for 5 runs saw the required rate jump to 9.25 runs an over. 12 runs in Amad Butt’s final over and 19 runs in Musa’s final over was enough for Quetta to seal the game and hand them the first win of the season.
Islamabad United will look to learn from this loss and make the necessary changes as they next face Multan Sultans at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.