Gladiators get Chapman boost, look to revive HBL PSL fortunes

Former champions Quetta Gladiators are one of the most successful teams in HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) history.

But the tenth edition of the league isn’t exactly going their way.

However, Quetta, who have won just one of their matches, are confident, that they will be back on track on Friday night by taming second-placed Karachi Kings at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Their optimism springs from the fact that dashing New Zealand batter Mark Chapman has joined Quetta, giving the team a much-needed shot in the arm.

Gladiators’ head coach Moin Khan is confident that his unit will regain momentum.

“We have got advantage that Mark Chapman has joined us. He is a good batsman of this format and I hope it will help our team regain momentum,” Moin told reporters.

“Some of our players had diarrhea but they are now well and we are ready to go against Karachi,” Moin said.

Gladiators are the strongest side of the six-team marquee event on paper. However, they have not yet shown the kind of discipline which could propel them to victories and consistency in performance.

Bright start

They had a bright start to the tournament when they crushed Peshawar Zalmi by 80 runs in Pindi.

Gladiators rode on fine batting from skipper Saud Shakeel (59), Finn Allen (51) and Hasan Nawaz (41) to post 216-3. In reply, they folded Zalmi for just 136 with leggie Abrar Ahmad (4-42) pulling off his T20 best figures.

However, Gladiators failed to continue the winning momentum and went on to lose their next two games on the trot against Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings.

They suffered a huge 79 runs defeat at the hands of Lahore Qalandars after they were folded for a mere 140 while chasing a huge total of 220.

Rilee Rossouw was the only impact player who batted fluently and scored 19-ball 44.

Gladiators were seen vulnerable against the Bangladesh’s spinner Rishad Hossain who took 3-31.

Kings then conquered Gladiators by 56 runs at Karachi. Set to chase 176 Gladiators were restricted to 119-9, a clueless batting performance. No batting strategy was seen from Gladiators in this show with skipper Saud Shakeel returning not out for 33.

Meanwhile, the Kings have so far done well with six points to their credit from five meetings.

Having benefited by some solid bowling performances from Hasan Ali, James Vince and all-round display from Khushdil Shah Kings started their journey brightly when they overwhelmed Multan Sultans.

James Vince hit a 43-ball 101 to enable Kings achieve the 235-run target with four balls to spare after losing six wickets in the process.

However, in their second game Kings were mauled by Lahore Qalandars by 65 runs at their own backyard.

Set to chase 202, Kings were skittled out for 136 with Khushdil Shah top-scoring 39.

Kings then defeated Gladiators by 56 runs.

Hasan Ali (3-27) did extremely well and was assisted by Mohammad Nabi and Abbas Afridi with two wickets each as Kings restricted Gladiators to 119-9 after setting a 176-run target for them.

Kings, meanwhile, again failed to continue with the winning momentum and were defeated by Islamabad United by six wickets.

United chased the 129-run low target in the 18th over with Hasan Ali taking 2-28.

Kings then defeated Zalmi by two wickets to elevate to the second spot with six points. Kings raced to the 148-run target with three balls to spare after losing eight wickets in the process. Skipper David Warner anchored his team’s innings with a fighting 47-ball 60, his first PSL half-century.

Kings’ batting will be strengthened with the induction of Kane Williamson who has joined the side the other day. Kane, the seasoned campaigner, was seen undergoing intensive training at the LCCA Ground on Thursday evening. Having taken enough rest by both sides a high-voltage game is expected tonight.