Lewis Gregory’s all-round show takes Islamabad home in a thrilling finish against Multan

PSL 6: Disdained Gladiators look for first win against buoyant Qalandars

After winning their opening encounter against the Peshawar Zalmi, the Qalandars have their next challenge waiting for them on the very next day. It is the Quetta Gladiators, who were humiliated by Karachi Kings in their previous encounter would face the Qalandar challenge at the National Stadium in Karachi. Gladiators excepting their leader to stand up to the challenge Sarfaraz Ahmed, the skipper of the Gladiators and the biggest leader and motivator in the side got out for just five runs and that too in a fashion, not usually associated with him. He made just 5 runs and his dismissal put off the entire team. It is thus important that he along with senior players like Chris Gayle, Ben Cutting and Mohammad Nawaz need to take up the responsibility and make sure they give enough confidence to young guns like Tom Banton and their three quicks to play their natural game. Qalandars look to polish their skills The Lahore team played a great game, but their chase was jittery nonetheless. Senior pros like Sohail Akhtar, Fakhar Zaman and overseas imports like David Wiese and Samit Patel need to bring out their best. Hadn’t it been for a Rashid Khan special, the Qalandars might have been staring down the barrel. Thus in the early phase of the game, the men from Lahore would want their mistakes to be rectified. Lahore Qalandars vs Quetta Gladiators: Match Details Match Number- 04 Date and Time: 22nd February, 07:30 pm IST, 07:00 pm Local, 02:00 pm GMT Venue- National Stadium, Karachi Broadcast and Live stream: Sony Six and Sony LIV Pitch Report The pitch for this game would be a used pitch only. In the last three games played at Karachi, all of them have been low scoring ones only. But that is not because of the slowness of the wicket, rather because of some brilliant display of bowling. The wickets here have had true bounce, it’s the lack of application from batsmen and some very serious pace of change from bowlers that have made the contests low scoring. Weather and Toss Karachi would have clear night skies for the game with a lot of dew on display. The skipper winning the toss would go for a bowl first without any doubt. Probable XIs Lahore Qalandars Fakhar Zaman, Sohail Akhtar (c), Agha Salman, Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk (wk), Samit Patel, David Wiese, Rashid Khan, Ahmed Daniyal, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza Quetta Gladiators Chris Gayle, Tom Banton, Saim Ayub, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Azam Khan, Ben Cutting, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Shinwari, Naseem Shah, Qais Ahmad Dream XI / Fantasy XI Chris Gayle, Tom Banton, Sohail Akhtar, Mohammad Hafeez (vc), Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Ben Cutting, Rashid Khan, Ahmed Daniyal, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain

Watch: Rohit Sharma slams experts for criticising Chepauk pitch

India’s opener Rohit Sharm has come down heavily on cricket experts who had criticised the quality of the pitch at Chepauk in the last Test against England. The pitch had started turning from the first day itself and the fact that puff of dust was exploding with some balls caught the attention of many experts, and some of them, especially former overseas cricketers deemed the pitch substandard and some went a step further to rate the pitch a ‘stinker.’ Addressing the press conference on Sunday evening, Rohit said that the pitch will offer turn and bounce has been a fact for ages and that there are no reasons the pitch in the second Test should be criticised so heavily. He added that every team has the right to capitalise on the home advantage and that the Indian team too faces it when they tour overseas and the opponent poses challenges on pitches that suit their style of playing cricket. He asserted that India too should do it and use the best of the opportunities to drive home the advantage of home conditions and that too without any sense of being apologetic about it. Rohit was the top scorer on the Chepauk pitch in the second Test and his innings stood apart in the first innings as most of the other batsmen, especially England batsmen were left flummoxed by the turn and bounce on that pitch.

Saqib Mahmood’s brilliant spell in vain as Rashid, Shaheen guide Qalandars to victory

Shouldered by Rashid Khan's excellent cameo of 27 runs from 15 balls alongside senior statesman Mohammad Hafeez's composed innings, Lahore Qalandars went past Peshawar Zalmi in a jittery game to open their account in the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League. Coming to bat after the fall of two quick wickets in a single Saqib Mahmood over, Khan, 22, didn’t waste too many deliveries to get going as he and Hafeez hit the opposition skipper Wahab Riaz for 14 runs in an over, at a time when the Qalandars required 22 to win from 18 balls. Before Wahab’s over, young quick Imran Khan too had conceded nine runs from his six balls to bring the required run rate down which had risen up after Saqib Mahmood's brilliant 16th over in which he removed Samit Patel and David Wiese with a breathtaking display of reverse swing. He gave away just a solitary single, pushing the required run rate to almost eight runs per over. The Lahore side then needed 31 from 24 deliveries. Earlier in the day, Qalandar’s skipper Sohail Akhtar won the toss and decided to bowl first. His decision was validated by Shaheen Afridi who removed Imam-Ul-Haq on the very first delivery of the match. It became difficult for Zalmi to recover from that attack as wickets fell at a regular interval. It was only after two overseas, Ravi Bopara and Sherafen Rutherford added 64 runs in 56 balls that Zalmi looked like getting to a competitive total. But soon Rutherford got out too and Bopara followed him after completing his 43 ball 50. Both were removed by Shaheen who took three wickets in the game and gave away just 14 runs in his four overs. He was adjudged Man of the Match for this brilliance performance of his. It was then that Amad Butt’s unbeaten effort of 23 runs from 11 balls helped his team get up to 140. Coming to chase 140, which was a tricky total for that wicket, especially with the strong bowling lineup of the Zalmi. Qalandars' start wasn’t ideal either. Afghan spinner Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman removed skipper Akhtar at a team score of 29. That started a phenomenon where wickets kept on falling as soon as it seemed like that Zalmi were out of the game. At 109-6 at the end of 16 overs, Qalandars were struggling to get past the target until Rashid Khan started to showcase the brilliance of his death overs hitting ably supported by Professor Hafeez. With this win at the National Stadium in Karachi, the Qalandars have now set their eyes firmly on their elusive title hunt, making a strong statement for other teams to beware.

IPL 2021: Rajasthan Royals part ways with head coach Andrew McDonald amid revamped leadership

The Rajasthan Royals have part ways from Andrew McDonald who had signed a three-year contract for the role of head coach of the franchise in the Indian Premier League in 2019. In a media release, the Royals said that both McDonald and the franchise have ‘mutually decided’ to part ways in terms of the ‘leadership structure.’ The move comes in the backdrop of changes of personnel at the top of the decision-making group of the franchise with former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara taking over as the director of the team starting the upcoming edition of the league. Meanwhile, the Royals have also stated that former Warwickshire player Trevor Penney will join the team as the Lead Assistant coach for the upcoming edition and he will work closely with Sangakkara and skipper Sanju Samson in pursuit of the franchise’s aim to win the trophy for the second time after the inaugural edition in 2008. The franchise thanked McDonald for coaching and leading the team in tough situations in the last season when the event was oragnised behind the closed doors. Royals’ COO, Lush McCrum also extended the best wishes to the former Australian all-rounder who now had taken up the responsibility as the assistant coach of the Australian team.