Rashid Khan’s heroics and James Faulkner’s three-for seal last-ball win for Lahore Qalandars
In Lahore Qalandars Vs Islamabad United | Match 15 | PSL 6 the powerplay, Faulkner took three wickets for the Qalandars, and their captain, Sohail, scored the most runs with 40. Lahore Qalandars defeated Islamabad United by five wickets, scoring 144 for 5 (Sohail 40, Hasan 2-27), and Faheem 27, Faulkner 3-32.
Few games are worth waiting three months for, but the PSL provided a UAE-style thriller on the return.Rashid Khan smashed three fours off the final over, when the Lahore Qalandars needed 16, to rescue a game that had slipped away for his team and condemn Islamabad United to a stunning last-ball defeat in a game that the Lahore Qalandars dominated but somehow found a way to lose control of.Tim David’s top edge cleared the keeper with one remaining on the final delivery, sealing United’s fate.
In the first innings, James Faulkner took three wickets at the top to help the Qalandars get off to a great start.Throughout the innings, United lacked fluency and frequently lost wickets. Only Faheem Ashraf’s cameo, when he scored the most runs with a 27 off 24 balls, got them past 120.That late surge brought Shadab Khan’s team back into the game, and their score of 143 seemed like a number that the UAE could just about defend;In Karachi, the very idea would have been unthinkable.
The Qalandars got off to a flying start thanks to Fakhar Zaman and Sohail Akhtar, but United’s precise and disciplined bowling soon stalled the chase.Ashraf took care of Zaman after he lost his fluency, and captain Akhtar became an increasingly important part of his team as the asking rate increased.The Qalandars were back in the game when he struck Shadab for 15 in the 12th over, but the true effects of that over had not yet been revealed.
The game appeared to be over for the Qalandars when Hasan Ali struck out the Australian in a superb final over, despite the fact that Ben Dunk was not performing at his best and wickets were falling frequently.
Singaporean global David’s six off the last ball implied Joined expected to shield 15, and Shadab tossed Hussain Talat the ball as opposed to taking it himself.After Rashid crushed him for three consecutive boundaries, the exhilarating match was abruptly over.
Even though Shadab’s confidence with the ball isn’t as high as it could have been, backing Talat, who didn’t bowl all day, to line up for that final over seemed like a risk that wasn’t necessary.Later, Shadab said he didn’t want to bowl at left-handers, so he stayed out of the bowling crease with Dunk until the 19th over.
But Dunk was out, and the Qalandars had two right-handed pitchers out in the middle with Rashid and David batting.Shadab, on the other hand, lacked self-confidence at the moment.In point of fact, Talat’s over was fairly typical, but given that it was his first, assigning blame would be overly harsh.
Faulkner, a military medium, was the Qalandars’ surprising pick in the replacement draft. However, when he was given the ball to open alongside Shaheen Afridi, the trust the Qalandars had in him seemed excessive.Even more so when Colin Munro tore him apart with consecutive fours and sixes as he shuffled to deliver what could be described as medium-fast deliveries.
On a slow pitch, however, that lack of pace would be especially destructive, especially when the Australian deliberately slowed things down.Faulkner was just beginning, and Munro was undone when he played the wrong line.Afridi’s lack of wickets was unfortunate, but his less well-known new-ball partner was more than making up for it.
While United was reeling, Rohail Nazir was defeated by an offcutter that slowed off the surface, and Shadab was unable to time another slower delivery.Akhtar was so impressed that Faulkner went on to bowl four balls in a row, taking all of them. By the time he was done, his team had taken control in Lahore Qalandars Vs Islamabad United | Match 15 | PSL 6.
The Rashid Khan masterclass The significance of Rashid’s availability to the Qalandars’ chances cannot be overstated.He decided to stay with the PSL despite the initial impression that he would lose to Sussex for the T20 Blast at this time of year. With the chance to bowl in these conditions, why wouldn’t he?Rashid in the PSL is about as close to a cheat code as T20 cricket gets these days, and the Afghan asphyxiated United through the middle overs while they were already under pressure.
His four overs yielded just nine runs and the wicket of Talat, putting the batting side completely on their backs.By the time he was done, United had only managed to limp to 101 for 7 in 16 overs thanks to the combination of the faster, flatter delivery, the standard legbreak, and a devilish googly.All of this without mentioning his subsequent accomplishments.
With three wins from five games, United falls to fourth, while Qalandars rise to the top with eight points and four wins from five games.
Shadab Khan’s decision to bowl Hussain Talat in the final over to defend 16 runs, despite having a spare over for himself to bowl, backfired as Lahore Qalandars marked the resumption of the 2021 Pakistan Super League with a last-ball victory over Islamabad United. Rashid Khan, James Faulkner, Faheem Ashraf, and Sohail Akhtar played for Lahore Qalandar
Before paving the way for his team’s 5-wicket victory, which further solidified their position at the top of the table, Rashid Khan took the two-paced surface out of the equation and slammed three boundaries off the first three balls of the final over, which had troubled all of the batters and dictated the pace and strategies of the contest up until that point.
With a 30-ball 40 on Wednesday, Lahore captain Sohail Akhtar had skillfully set the pace of the chase by adapting to the difficult surface at the Shaikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.He was able to learn from the mistakes made by the Islamabad batsmen, who had struggled to force the pace.He mostly worked the ball around to rotate the strike, but he quickly picked up on poor deliveries, especially when Fawad Ahmed and Shadab Khan were in play.
Notwithstanding, when the third wicket stand of 38 among Akhtar and Mohammad Hafeez reached a conclusion, with the previous getting caught legbefore to Fawad’s googly, Islamabad maneuvered their direction back into the challenge.Hasan Ali defeated Hafeez shortly thereafter, and Ben Dunk struggled to keep up with the chase in the final overs.
Tim David of Singapore hit a boundary and a six to keep Lahore’s chase alive, but Rashid’s three boundaries in succession in the final over turned the game in their favor.David top-edged a pull to help his team over the line because they needed one off the last delivery.
After taking some time to adjust to the nature of the pitch, Islamabad United had tottered their way to 143 for 9 earlier in the day, with Rashid playing a key role even with the ball.James Faulkner used clever variations to score three times in the powerplay, leaving Islamabad uneasy after being called upon to bat.Rohail Nazir struck out Shadab Khan, who was caught behind, after the left-arm pacer removed Colin Munro from the game with a slower pitch that slowed slightly after being pitched.
From that point on, they not only slowed down but also failed to form partnerships.The Lahore bowlers took advantage of the circumstances by combining skillfully pace and hard hitting to achieve their goals.Rashid was predictably meek, but he baffled the batters so much that he only gave up nine runs over four innings.
Faheem Ashraf adapted well to the conditions, but toward the end of the innings, he was pressured to hit hard.His 24-ball 27 and the cameos from Hasan Ali and Mohammad Wasim jr. helped the team get to a score that was competitive, but it wasn’t enough to get them their fourth win of the season.
Brief Ratings: Islamabad United scored 143/9 in 20 overs (Usman Khawaja 18; Faheem Ashraf 27,James Faulkner 3-32, Haris Rauf 2-28) lost to Lahore Qalandars 144/5 out of 20 overs (Sohail Akhtar 40, Mohammad Hafeez 29;by 5 wickets (Hasan Ali 2-27, Shadab Khan 1-23).
Now, who would have anticipated a low-scoring thriller?a very good game today, despite the high over-rates that leave a lot to be desired.As a batsman, Rashid has once more proven his worth, but as a bowler, he is almost taken for granted and used up.As a result, Abhinand, Sriram, and Naga are represented by Rishi from. Many more cliffhangers, but please in 1.25x.Cheerio!
Sohail Akhtar, captain of the Lahore Qalandars:We gave away 15 to 20 more runs than we ought to have.At the end, we bowled well and kept it tight, and our batting was ultimately impressive.We have spinners, which we will select based on the wicket.We have the best fast bowlers in the world at the moment, and when spinners are needed, we will pick them carefully.
Man of the Match (Ball: Rashid Khan)4-0-9-1 | Bat:15 off 5):I think it was the confidence in my shots that got me the runs, particularly to another bowler, so I took him on and it fell off.Despite the responsibility, I continue to have fun, and it’s important not to overburden yourself.Raise your hand, go there, and perform for your team is crucial.Good fielding gives you extra energy and makes you your best in other ways.
Shadab Khan is the captain of Islamabad United:I had saved one for myself at the end of my bowling for myself.Spinners became easier to play as the dew came in.I trusted Talat, and if I had to do it again, I would support him.It is difficult to play for the younger batsmen, and we must forget the Karachi phase.We can’t complain because the batsmen will find it easier as the dew sets in later.We put in effort and demonstrated it, but tonight’s outcome was not in our favor.Later in the tournament, it might be.
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