In the 21st match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL), Islamabad United held their nerves and registered a thrilling two-wicket win against Quetta Gladiators at Pindi Club Ground in Rawalpindi on March 05 (Sunday). Chasing a tricky target of 180 runs, Islamabad rode on Colin Munro's exhilarating half-century and won the game with three balls to spare.
After opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz departed for a two-ball duck, Islamabad needed a partnership in order to chase down the target after being pegged back early in just the first over of the innings. Munro and Alex Hales combined for a 52-run partnership for the second wicket and steadied Islamabad's innings after the early blow. Hales (12 runs off nine balls) was a mere onlooker from the non-striker's end as Munro unleashed mayhem at the striker's end.
Even with wickets tumbling at the other end, the southpaw cracked 63 runs off 29 balls with the help of five fours and four sixes. The Kiwi batter was dismissed on the first ball of the eighth over with Islamabad motoring along at 96/4. After Munro's dismissal, Islamabad's batting line-up panicked as the team lost two more wickets and were at once stage tottering at 111/6 in 11.1 overs.
Azam Khan (35 runs off 25 balls) and Faheem Ashraf (39 not out off 31 balls) combined for a match-winning partnership of 58 runs for the seventh wicket.
For Quetta, Umaid Asif bagged three wickets while Mohammad Nawaz chipped in with two strikes of his own.
Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Quetta rode on Umar Akmal's belligerent batting and posted a total of 179/6 in 20 overs. Akmal scored an unbeaten 43 runs off 14 balls with the help of two fours and five sixes. Nawaz (52 runs off 44 balls) and Najibullah Zadran (59 runs off 34 balls) scored half-centuries before Akmal provided the breathtaking finish.
Fazalhaq Farooqi bagged three wickets with the ball for Islamabad while Ashraf struck twice in his spell.
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