Fakhar Zaman's blitz topples Quetta Gladiators

Lahore Qalandars 186 for 4 (Fakhar 94, Sadaf 42*) beat Quetta Gladiators 169 for 6 (Rossouw 42, Narine 2-22, Yasir 2-35 ) by 17 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Lahore Qalandars continued their late resurgence in the PSL, notching up their third successive win after downing Quetta Gladiators by 17 runs. They had opener Fakhar Zaman to thank primarily for their two points. He put on a show of fabulous power-hitting to clout 94 off 50 balls - the highest individual score this season - and lead his side to 186.

Lahore haven't made any changes to their team since picking up their first win, and their openers Fakhar and Anton Devcich gave them a solid start again. However, when Devcich, Agha Salman and Brendon McCullum - the captain who was controversially given out off a no-ball - fell in quick succession, Fakhar held the innings together, brilliantly supported by a 27-ball 42 from wicketkeeper-batsman Gulraiz Sadaf. A cameo in the end from Sunil Narine (20*) ensured Lahore finished with a flourish.

With Jason Roy back in the Quetta side, their top order boasted a frightening quartet of Roy, Shane Watson, Kevin Pietersen and Rilee Rossouw. While the England opener got Quetta off to a fast start - they raced to 52 for 0 in five overs - the wicket of Watson immediately set them back. And from thereon the Quetta chase began to unravel. Narine took care of both Pietersen and Roy, and as the asking rate climbed, Quetta found themselves out of the contest. Rossouw launched a counterattack, smashing five sixes in a 22-ball 42, but it only gave Lahore a late scare. Quicks Shaheen Afridi and Sohail Khan eventually wrapped up a comfortable win.

Where the match was won

It may have taken till after Lahore were eliminated to begin working on their weaknesses, but they did illustrate the extent to which they have improved in the middle overs on Wednesday. After losing three quick wickets, Lahore's run rate had dipped below seven, and after 11 overs they were stuttering at 76 for 3. But instead of capitulating, Fakhar and Gulraiz launched an astonishing onslaught, hitting 64 in the next four overs. It included an over of fearsome hitting from Fakhar that cost 24 runs, with Rahat Ali the hapless recipient. It was the phase of the game Sarfraz Ahmed might have deemed Lahore to be most vulnerable, but they turned that weakness into a comprehensive strength.

The men that won it

While it is hard to look past Fakhar, one would be remiss to overlook vital contributions from Narine and Gulraiz. After all, Fakhar was dismissed with nearly five overs left in Lahore innings and the score only at 141, when the pair put on an unbroken 45-run stand in 28 balls.

The brain freeze


A team led by McCullum on course to win three in a row is likely to be a happy unit. That was how Lahore had been appearing all tournament. Even when they had lost six on the bounce, they never looked like a dressing room falling out with each other. But towards the end of today's contest, when both teams were almost going through the motions with the game virtually in the bag for Lahore, a bizarre scuffle erupted. Sohail Khan, who had been trying to get the attention of Yasir Shah on the boundary without success, inexplicably lost his temper and threw the ball on the full towards him. It very narrowly missed Yasir's head, and the legspinner, to put it mildly, was incandescent. It took all of McCullum's diplomatic powers to assuage the pair, but the lack of judgment from Sohail couldn't help leaving one nonplussed. The pair reconciled at the end of the game, and Yasir even laughed it off. It would have been rather different, of course, if the ball had actually made contact with Yasir.

Where they stand

Lahore drew level with Peshawar Zalmi, though they are still in last place on net run-rate. Quetta remained second, two points behind table-toppers Islamabad United.

Hasan heroics trump Gul six-for as Quetta win

Quetta Gladiators 156 for 8 (Rossouw 27, Raja 22, Umar Gul 6-24) beat Multan Sultans 152 for 5 (Malik 65*, Maqsood 27) by two wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A thrilling contest got the finish it deserved, with teenager Hasan Khan smashing Kieron Pollard for six off the penultimate ball to sealing a much-needed two-wicket win for Quetta Gladiators. Multan Sultans had looked like they were slightly ahead for much of the Quetta's 152 chase, only to pipped at the end. This came despite a superb vintage performance from Umar Gul, who took 6 for 24 in his first game this season.

Multan's first innings total owed much to its skipper Shoaib Malik, who blazed an unbeaten 43-ball 65 after they had lost Kumar Sangakkara off the first ball. Quetta's bowlers kept the batsmen in check for the first 15 overs, Mohammad Nawaz and Rahat Ali in particular hitting their targets to ensure there would be no repeat of the massive total Multan amassed against Peshawar on Tuesday. But 57 were scored off the last five as Quetta, much like Peshawar, lost their discipline and composure towards the death overs.

Quetta's innings began on track before a quick double-strike by Gul removed both openers either side of the 50-run mark. The game remained evenly poised for much of the chase, but the early dismissal of an off-colour Kevin Pietersen was a huge blow for last year's finalists. Cameos from Rilee Rossouw and Rameez Raja Jnr kept them in the hunt, with Anwar Ali, and at the very end Hasan, sealing the win in a massive heist.

Where the match was won

While the early loss of their openers meant Multan spent their Powerplay regrouping, Quetta's opening pair gave them a fast start that kept them in touch with the asking rate for the best part of their chase. Shafiq and Watson put on 46 without loss for the first Powerplay, the most runs Multan have conceded in the first six so far. They may have lost both of them soon after, but the start meant they had a margin for error, and by the time the lower middle order began to regroup, the asking rate wasn't yet insurmountable. That was in stark contrast to Multan's first six. They were reduced to 3 for 2 by the end of the first two overs, and sent in Sohail Tanvir to try and up the ante. That didn't quite work either, and they ended up with 35 by the time the fielding restrictions were lifted. In a close contest, those 11 runs made all the difference.

The men that won it

Not many people get the chance to bookend a game like Hasan did. He took a catch to remove Sangakkara first ball at short midwicket. Nearly 40 overs later, he smashed Pollard for six off the penultimate delivery to seal a framatic win. He didn't have a great deal to do in the middle, but was stellar when called upon, conceding just nine runs in the two overs of left-arm spin he bowled. With the bat, he didn't even breach double figures, but his nine runs off three balls is guaranteed to be a more famous innings than the 65 Malik smashed earlier on.

Vintage Umar Gul

Gul rolled back the years with a scintillating performance, becoming only the second player in PSL history - after Ravi Bopara - to take six wickets in a match. It began with the removal of the openers, and he returned to remove opposition captain Sarfraz with the first ball of his second spell, swinging the game back in his side's favour. By the end of three overs, his figures read a mightily impressive 3-0-11-4. His last over was the definition of a mixed bag, as the two sixes he conceded brought Quetta right back into the game, although the two wickets he took - taking his tally to six and his overall T20 tally to 200 wickets - seemed to have edged Multan back ahead. You're unlikely to see a better bowling performance end up on the losing side all season.

Where they stand

Multan are still at the top of the table with nine points, but second-placed Karachi have two games in hand. Quetta, meanwhile, go from 5th to 4th, having won three of six games.