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PSL 2021 | QTG vs PSZ: Killer Miller, Irfan help Zalmi knock clueless Quetta almost out of Playoffs race

Quetta Gladiators’ woes continue as they lose yet another game in the Pakistan Super League. With this 61 run loss against the Peshawar Zalmi, the Sarfaraz Ahmed led side are almost out of the race to the playoffs. This is the Gladitors’ sixth loss in seven games and even if they go on to win their remaining three matches, they could get up to just eight points which wouldn’t suffice for them to make it to the Playoffs, until and unless some miracle happens.

It was a poor performance by all means from the team in purple. Be it with the ball or the bat, they were no match at all to the team from the Swat valley in the north. Chasing a gigantic total of 198, the only phase where the Quetta side looked like being in the chase was during their opening partnership of 62 runs by two youngsters Usman Khan and Saim Ayub, who came as a concussion substitute for Faf du Plessis. 

Post that, it was all chaos as Mohammad Irfan picked up three wickets in just one over to jolt the batting order. From 69-1, the Gladiators were suddenly 70-4 with most of their attacking batters including Cameron Delport and Azam Khan walking back to the pavilion. Skipper Sarfaraz was left to fight the lone battle when Umaid Asif, also known as PSL’s Iron Man removed two batters, Mohammad Nawaz and Jake Weatherald in only his first over of the game. 

With nothing much to be gained from the game, the 34-year-old skipper chose to increase his average as he remained not out on 36 from 28 balls. 

Earlier in the evening, the story of the Gladiators bowling was also similar to their batting. After starting well, getting two quick wickets including that of experienced Shoaib Malik and putting Zalmi in all sorts of trouble, the Gladiators lost control. Capitalising on that, David Miller and Kamran Akmal, both of whom were struggling to get runs, got going. The two put together 125 runs in just 72 balls to break the shackle of the Quetta attack. Thereafter there was no end to Srafaraz’ frustration which was pretty much visible and audible from his actions and words behind the wicket. 

From 30/2 in seven overs, the Gladiators conceded 167 in 13 overs. In fact, they had pulled back some runs, but for the miscalculation of Sarafaraz who gave legging Zahid Mahmoddthe last over of the innings and Rovman Powell hit him for 20 runs. Among Mahmood and Delport, used as the fifth bowler, they gave away 78 runs in four overs. 

Miller was the highest scorer of the Zalmi with his 46 balls 73. However, Irfan with his 3/27 presented a tough battle for the Man of the Match Award, but it was eventually won by the 32-year-old Proteas man. Wahab Riaz, the skipper of the men in camouflage was happy with the performance of his team. 

Praising Irfan he said, “Irfan has shown attitude and intent and he is one of the best bowlers in the world. It's very hard to bowl three overs like that, he's a great guy.” “It's a great win to have and we are looking at the matches one by one hoping to make it into the playoffs,” he added. 

The Zalmi will be in action tomorrow, June 13 as well when they will take on Multan Sultans at the very same venue of Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The Gladiators would have enough time to gather themselves and also to gauge their mathematical chances of remaining in the competition when they next face Lahore Qalandars on June 15.

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ENG vs NZ | 2nd Test Day 3: England's muddle ripped open as spirited Kiwis smell historic series win

A clinical display of bowling line and length on the back of strong batting performance has put New Zealand at a touching distance from winning the second Test and the series against England in England, for the first time since 1984. At stumps on day three, England were languishing at nine down for 122 with a lead of just 37 runs—a majority of which came from the bat of Mark Wood, whose batting display must have sent some sort of embarrassment to English batsmen batting above him in the batting order. New Zealand were in a great position to bat the hosts out of the game in the first innings itself but English bowlers showed determination to snatch the momentum from them in the morning session. However, all those missed opportunities have more or less been compensated by an outstanding bowling lineup that never made it look like missing performers as big as Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson. England conceded a sizeable lead of 85 runs although it once appeared to be far bigger than that. They needed their openers to shine again to combat the new-ball pair of Matt Henry and Trent Boult but it could not have been a more contrasting start. England’s best batsman in the series Rory Burns was tempted into driving at one that wasn’t so full to be driven and was also far away from him even before the hosts could open up their account. Henry did not stop there and found another edge of Dom Sibley bat although the batsman did not play an expansive drive like his partner. The man on pair Zak Crawley got off the mark with a huge reception from the Barmy Army, whose sound could well have given a false signal that all were good and on track for England cricket. However, his innings could not flourish longer than few crisp boundaries and Henry found his pads in front of the stumps to leave England in tatters. The England middle order has been shambolic for so many games starting the series against Sri Lanka and the course correction has not taken place even in home conditions. Ollie Pope came out with aggressive inter once again but the workhorse Neil Wagner, who has also found considerable success with the swinging ball in England, tailed one sharply back towards his pads and the Surrey right-hander was caught napping after being set up by away going deliveries, one after another. The script continued, not only for Wagner but also for the next England batsman Daniel Lawrence, who had the dismissal of Pope playing all over his mind. He was nervous around his off stump and Wagner was smart enough to drag his line a bit straighter to make the case a complicated one for him and eventually getting him edged behind to the keeper. After Lawrence’s departure, England’s hopes were solemnly on the skipper Joe Root’s shoulder and he was not finding it easy to score runs. He struggled for timing and New Zealand bowlers relentless in their discipline to deny him any sort of breathing space. He was joined by James Bracey, who must have walked in with the weight of the world and all the hype surrounding him over his head. He got off the mark in Test cricket in his second game but an eagerness to score off Ajaz Patel saw him walking back to the pavilion with serious helplessness. Patel may not have played this Test had Mitchell Santner not injured his hand in the last Test and he picked up the last thorn in New Zealand’s flesh in the form of Joe Root to establish how poor that decision was in the first Test and would have been in the second one at Edgbaston. With Root gone, England were down and out but the two batsmen Olly Stone and Mark Wood made sure to not make a light work of the case for the Blackcaps. Wood smashed few crisp boundaries and used his admirably against Patel to hit him down the ground and cut him behind point showing the mind of a top-order batsman while playing spin. Earlier, New Zealand almost squandered the great opportunity with the bat but Ross Taylor transformed himself from a man who looked completely out of form to the batsman for what he has been known for in international cricket. Taylor was extremely harsh on short deliveries from Stone and Wood but remained vigilant against his longtime nemesis Stuart Broad. No other batsman except Tom Blundell could utilise the platform set by Will Youn, Taylor and Devon Conway but some useful contributions from the bat lower down the order helped the tourists gain a valuable, tactical lead over England which ultimately proved to be enough for an ill-disciplined England batting line up against the quality of their bowling attack. All seems to be over for England except if the game starts writing its won script and England bowlers could produce a Lord’s 2013 like performance yet again on the fourth day of the Test.

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WI vs SA | 1st Test: Rabada five-for humbles crumbling Windies by an innings and 63 runs

If it was Lungi Ngidi in the first innings, Kagiso Rabada raised his hands in the second innings as the South Africans humbled the host West Indies in the first game of the two-match Test series at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St. Lucia. Kagiso Rabada was the destroyer in chief for South Africa as the paceman ended with a five-wicket haul, his 10th of the Test career. Anrich Nortje was among the wickets much like the first innings as well. He picked three in this innings as well to add to his tally of three from the first innings. The rest of the two wickets were picked by left-arm orthodox spinner Keshav Maharaj. Trailing by 144 runs overnight, the West Indian pair of Jermaine Blackwood and Roston Chase began the third day positively, but couldn’t get on with the partnership. At the team score of 97, he was trapped by Rabada as his third scalp. Former skipper and number one Test all-rounder, Jason Holder couldn’t do much either as he was bowled by Maharaj. Chase finally found some support in the form of wicket-keeper batsman Joshua da Silva, but even after batting for 10 overs together, the duo could add only 15 runs. However, Chase’ concentration was finally broken as a Maharaj delivery ripped through his defences and castled him. The 29-year-old was the highest run-getter for the men in maroon in this entire game. He scored 62 off 156 balls. After his wicket, it was mere formalities and in the span of 22 runs, the last three wickets were taken by the Proteas. Quinton de Kock for his brilliant hundred was adjudged Man of the Match. With all to play for in the second game, the West Indies would take the field to save the series, while South Africa would look to maintain its 15 years Tets series-winning run against the Caribbeans. The match would begin on June 18.

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PSL 2021 | ISU vs LHQ: With revenge on their mind, Shadab Khan’s men take on in form Qalandars

When these two teams met last time in the Pakistan Super League 2021, it was the inaugural match of the Abi Dhabi leg and Qalandars managed to just sneak past the red lions in the last ball thriller. However, Islamabad United came back roaring in their very next encounter when they mauled the Quetta Gladiators by 10 wickets, chasing down 134 in just 10 overs. The Qalandars, however, are unbeaten in the Abu Dhabi leg so far in their two games. After the narrow escape against united, they defeated the Zalmi comprehensively thanks to a brilliant spell by Rashid Khan who picked his first-ever five-wicket haul in the franchise cricket history. Oozing with confidence the Qalandars would look to seal the deal in this game and make sure that they are into the Playoffs before anyone else. Mathematically, if they win this game, and get to 12 points, they would require just one more victory in their remaining three games to qualify. However, there are many loopholes in the Qalandars lineup that might get exposed in coming games. To name a few, their top order is totally out of form including Professor Mohammaed Hafeez and skipper Sohail Akhtar, although he did score 40 in the first game. Similarly, there was a lot of problem with the Islamabad squad too, but with their openers, Colin Munro and Usman Khawaja, putting on a brilliant performance in the last game, the middle-order woes that troubled the Sherus in Karachi as well as the first encounter here, seemed to have been covered up. But for how long is the question? Islamabad United vs Lahore Qalandars: Match Details Match Number-20 Date and Time: June 13th 2021, 06: 30 pm IST, 01:00 pm GMT, 05:00 pm Local Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Broadcast and Live Stream: Sony Liv Pitch Report More than five games have been played at the stadium, different pitches have been used, of course, but as far as the nature of the ground is concerned, it has produced wickets that have bounce and carry but at the same time are susceptible to grip and holding up after a considerable period of time elapsing in the game. Batters, if they apply themselves can get runs as well, as has been shown by Tim David and Munro in different games. Weather and Toss The Weather in Abu Dhabi as expected is great for a cricket game. Since this game would have sunlight at least during the first innings, a great amount of heat can be expected in deserts. It would take time to cool down so more or less both the teams would have similar weather experience. As far as the toss is concerned, as has been the tradition in UAE, win the toss and field first is most likely to continue. Team News Islamabad United Faheem Ashraf’s injury seemed to be a blessing in disguise for the red Shadab led squad as Mohammad Musa utilised the opportunity to produce a great performance with the ball, picking up two wickets. Even Akif Ajved, who came in place of Fawad Ahmed was more than good enough with the new ball. Thus, no changes would be expected from the Islamabad team going into this game. Probable XI Colin Munro, Usman Khawaja, Hussain Talat, Rohail Nazir (wk), Shadab Khan (c), Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Muhammad Musa, Akif Javed, Mohammad Wasim Jr Lahore Qalandars Sohail Akhtar and the team management have played the same team in both the games and whenever the skipper was asked if he would change the team, the reply was the same, “we would play according to conditions.” Mohammad Faizan, the right arm youngster hasn’t really been able to impress in the two outings and seems like the only weak link in the team. Muhammad Zaid Alam is another youngster waiting in the wings and can be tried. Probable XI Fakhar Zaman (c), Sohail Akhtar, Muhammad Faizan/ Muhammad Zaid Alam, Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk (wk), Tim David, Rashid Khan, James Faulkner, Ahmed Daniyal, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf Dream XI / Fantasy XI predictions Sohail Akhtar, Usman Khawaja, Colin Munro, Ben Dunk (wk), Tim David (vc), Mohammad Hafeez, Rashid Khan (c), James Faulkner, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Shaheen Afridi