The Quetta Gladiators team that took the field at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday turned out as a microcosm of the national team in the Pakistan Super League game against Peshawar Zalmi.
Supreme on one day, extremely fragile in batting on another, the league toppers before the start of the game collapsed to 66 for nine before finally getting over the line at 129.
The Zalmi captain Shahid Afridi provided the star turn with a spell that read an unreal 4-1-7-5 in the end. The last wicket pair of Grant Elliott and Zulfiqar Babar flung their bat at everything for a partnership of 63, almost what the rest of the team could muster.
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However, Dawid Malan (60) and Mohammed Hafeez (36) ensured there no more surprises in the chase.
Earlier, Islamabad United showed they had enough sting in the tail as they leapfrogged over their rivals Karachi Kings.
The Kings were left to defend a low total after Imran Khalid and other United bowlers tightened the screws from the outset. The Kings did not lose many wickets and had sizable contributions from Ravi Bopara (45) and Mushfiqur Rahim (33) but still only limped to 128 for the loss of five wickets.
Islamabad were 19 for three in reply at one stage and had to rely on the middle order of Misbah-ul-Haq (38), Khalid Latif (33) and an unbeaten cameo from Asif Ali to pull them through. Asif hit three sixes just when it looked like Islamabad could get back into the game. “It was a good win. Asif really finished the game well,” the United and Pakistan captain Misbah said in the post-match briefing.
“The bowlers really bowled well on this pitch. It has been a confidence boost for us,” Misbah added as Islamabad moved up from fourth to replace Karachi in third spot on the table.
Analysing the loss, his counterpart Shoaib Malik said: “We are losing most of our games in the first six overs, whether it is batting or bowling. That is where we need to improve our skills.”
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