Sikandar Raza Powers Qalandars to Win After Team’s Early Jitters
Raza plays a shot during his 71* (PCB)
Sikandar Raza’s hurricane with the bat powered the Lahore Qalandars to a remarkable win against cellar dwellers Quetta Gladiators in match number 18 of the ongoing PSL 2023 season.
The win extended Qalandars’ unbeaten streak to four games this tournament, one which launched against the same opponent last month.
Sikandar plays lone hand
The Lahore Qalandars lost both their openers, Mirza Baig and Fakhar Zaman, within the first three overs of their innings. Their troubles took turn for the worse thereafter as they lost a couple more inside the powerplay and eventually succumbed to 50-7 in 9.3 overs.
Qalandars’ imported all-rounders Rashid Khan and Sikandar Raza shared a 69-run stand together to take the team total past the 100-run mark. Raza himself remained unbeaten till the end and ensured his side listed a remarkable fightback with 148 to show for upfront.
The Zimbabwean star scored 71 of those runs, while facing just 34 deliveries and dispatched eight of them for boundaries and three of them for massive sixes.
For the Gladiators, new-ball pair Naseem Shah and Odean Smith both claimed a wicket each while Mohammad Nawaz and Naveen-ul-Haq struck twice in their respective spells.
Haris Rauf snares three
The Quetta Gladiators raced to 55 runs by the end of their powerplay, in pursuit of Qalandars’ 148-run total. However, they lost well-settled openers Will Smeed and Yasir Khan in successive overs, and lost a couple more within the next 15 deliveries.
Gladiators, at 64-4, were jolted further after losing their sixth wicket with just 105 on the board in 16 overs. Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed provided some stability in a losing cause with his run-a-ball 27* as 131-7 was all they could manage in their reply.
Qalandars’ pacer Haris Rauf was the chief architect of destruction with the ball, claiming three economical wickets off his four overs. Rashid Khan also delivered a constructive spell for his side, giving away just 14 off his four overs while striking twice in his spell.
The 17-run defeat keeps the Gladiators at the bottom of the PSL 2023 points table, which continues to be helmed by the Lahore Qalandars with five wins out of six games.
Brief scores:
Lahore Qalandars: 148 (19.2)
Sikandar Raza 71 (34), Rashid Khan 21 (20)
Mohammad Nawaz 2-19, Naveen-ul-Haq 2-36
Quetta Gladiators: 131-7 (20)
Will Smeed 32 (25), Sarfaraz Ahmed 27* (28)
Haris Rauf 3-22, Rashid Khan 2-14
Lahore Qalandars won by 17 runs
 "Aakash Saini")
