Quetta Gladiators eases past Peshawar Zalmi in HBL PSL X match

Finn Allen and Saud Shakeel hammered fine fifties and spinner Abrar Ahmed produced best figures of his T20 career at any level to enable Quetta Gladiators to inflict a crushing 80 runs defeat on Peshawar Zalmi in their opener of the HBL PSL X at the Pindi Stadium in Rawalpindi on Saturday.

Allen struck a ruthless 25-ball 53 and Saud smashed a 42-ball 59 to guide Gladiators to a daunting 216-3 in the allotted 20 overs.

Abrar then took 4-42 in four overs and was ably backed by Mohammad Amir (2-11) and off-spinner Usman Tariq (2-26) to fold Zalmi for 136 in the 16th over.

Set to score 217, Peshawar Zalmi lost early wicket when Mohammad Amir removed Babar Azam who was held at cover by Rilee Rossouw for a duck in the first over.

This triggered Zalmi's mini collapse as spinner Abrar Ahmed then got rid of Mohammad Haris (13) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (0) in one over to leave Zalmi at 30-3 in the fourth over.

However at this stage Saim Ayub and Hussain Talat batted superbly. They put pressure on the opposition and engineered some massive hits to keep Zalmi's hopes alive.

The duo shared 66 quick runs for the fourth wicket. It was off-spinner Usman Tariq who not only broke the partnership by removing Hussain Talat but also got rid of Max Bryant (0) off his next delivery to leave Zalmi at 93-5.

After losing quick wickets, Hussain Talat smashed a 19-ball 35, smacking three sixes and two fours.

Saim at this stage remained the only hope for Zalmi but he also failed to go deep and fell prey to Kyle Jamieson after completing his fine fifty. He faced 38 balls and smashed four sixes, three of them towards onside and one straight, in his 38-ball effort. He marked his comeback to competitive cricket in style after having passed through three-month long rehab due to injury. When Saim departed Zalmi were 103-6 in the 12th over. In the same over Alzaari Joseph got run out for a duck.

Abrar then had Sufiyan Muqeem (1) and Mohammad Ali (0) off his two successive deliveries to leave his side just one wicket away of victory.

Amir removed the last man Mitchell Owen to fold Zalmi’s innings. Owen, the Australian, smashed a 13-ball 31, hitting four sixes and one four.

Kyle Jamieson (1-28 in 3) also contributed to Gladiators bowling cause.

Earlier, Finn Allen and skipper Saud Shakeel hammered contrasting fifties and precious knocks came in from emerging batting sensation Hasan Nawaz and Kusal Mendis as Quetta Gladiators posted 216-3 in 20 overs after being invited to bat first by Babar Azam.

It was the day of Finn Allen, who was seen in superb form. He was timing the ball extremely well and hit a few massive hits over the park as Gladiators brought in 67 in the powerplay. And when Allen was removed by spinner Sufiyan Muqeem, Gladiators were in commanding position with 88-1 in seven overs.

Allen brought up his fifty off just 23 balls and hammered four huge sixes and five fours in his 25-ball 53.

In the over in which he fell to Sufiyan the New Zealander smashed him for three successive sixes and a four and it fetched 23 runs.

Before that Allen struck Mohammad Ali for a six and two fours in the fifth over which yielded 15 runs. When Allen fell it seemed that Gladiators would post a massive total but Sufiyan and Saim Ayub bowled tightly in the middle overs. They also checked Saud Shakeel who turned a bit slow after a solid start.

Saud was removed by young pacer Ali Raza in the 16th over. Saud, who also hammered a few superb strokes, hit two sixes and six fours in his 42-ball 59.

Saud's fifty came in 35 balls. He added 63 runs for the second wicket stand with Hasan Nawaz, who struck a 32-ball 41.

Hasan, known for big hitting, showed glimpses of his aggressive batting, clobbering three sixes and two fours in his productive knock.

Hasan smashed Alzarri Joseph for a super six at square leg, hammered Sufiyan for a wonderful six towards extra cover before he struck a big six off spinner Saim Ayub who returned from injury.

Hasan was also dropped by close-in fielder off Mohammad Ali when he was on 34.

Gladiators were 150 in 15 overs and in the last five overs they did extremely well by adding 66 runs to take their total to 216-3.

The credit goes to Kusal Mendis and Rilee Roussouw for late charge who shared 58 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket partnership. Mendis, the Sri Lankan, smashed a rapid 14-ball 35 not out, smacking two sixes and three fours.

Rossouw struck ten-ball 21 not out with one six and two fours.

Ali Raza (1-31 in 4 overs), Alzarri Joseph (1-53 in 4 overs) and Sufiyan Muqeem (1-39 in 4 overs) were the successful bowlers.

Mohammad Ali remained the most expensive of bowler as he conceded 57 runs in his quota of four overs. Saim conceded 26 in three overs.