• Islamabad United chose to bowl first against Quetta Gladiators.
• Islamabad appeared to be chasing a low mark at one point.
• Sarfaraz Ahmed made the mistake of batting at number three.

In the ongoing eighth season of the Pakistan Premier League (PSL), Islamabad United chose to bowl first against Quetta Gladiators on Sunday at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi. They were given a target of 180 runs.

Islamabad appeared to be chasing a fairly low mark at one point, but Quetta staged a stunning comeback in the second part of the innings.

After he trapped Will Smeed, who had scored a golden duck, in front of the stumps in the opening over, Fazalhaq Farooqi made a run.

After Yasir Khan spooned one straight to Shadab Khan at extra cover in the third over of the innings for five runs in 11 balls, the Afghanistan pacer secured his second wicket of the game.

Sarfaraz Ahmed, the captain of Quetta, made the mistake of batting at number three, which resulted in his being superbly caught by Mubasir Khan on the fence while attempting to play a pull shot. He made three runs but was defeated by Faheem Ashraf.

Following Faheem’s second wicket of the game, Iftikhar Ahmed (2) also returned to the pavilion after giving Shadab at mid-on a straightforward catch.

At 17-4, Quetta was in trouble, but Mohammad Nawaz and Najibullah Zadran saved their team with an outstanding hundred-run partnership and a pair of fifty-sixes.

Nawaz, who had scored 52 runs in 44 balls, was caught in the deep by Fazalhaq, breaking the stand, in the 17th over.

Meanwhile, Zadran was cleaned up by Rumman Raees after scoring 59 runs in 34 balls with the help of five fours and three sixes.

Umar Akmal, who was making a comeback in the side, played a blinder to provide impetus in the death over. The right-hander scored unbeaten 43 runs in only 14 balls.

Quetta Gladiators, who are at the bottom of the points table, are nearly eliminated from PSL 8 since they need to win all their remaining games and hope other results go their way if they’re to get through to the playoffs.

Meanwhile, a win for Islamabad United today will push them into second, just behind the Qalandars from Lahore.

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