Quetta Gladiators produced a dominant all-round display to beat defending champions Lahore Qalandars by six wickets in the 26th match of PSL 11 at the National Bank Stadium on Friday.
Chasing 135, Quetta reached the target with 22 balls to spare after recovering from an early wobble.
The Gladiators lost both openers cheaply, with Shamyl Hussain departing without scoring and Saud Shakeel managing just one, leaving the side at 11-2 inside three overs.
That brought Rilee Rossouw and Mohammad Nawaz together, and the pair completely turned the match around with a brilliant 104-run stand for the third wicket.
Nawaz fell just one run short of a half-century after scoring 49 from 32 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes. Dinesh Chandimal was then dismissed soon after, but Lahore could not stop Rossouw from taking Quetta home.
The left-hander remained unbeaten on 60 off 49 balls, striking five fours and two sixes, while Bevon Jacobs added a quick 14 not out from six deliveries at the end.
Earlier, Lahore’s decision to bat first failed to pay off as they were bowled out for 134 in 19.5 overs.
Mohammad Naeem and Fakhar Zaman both fell inside the first three overs, while Charith Asalanka also failed to settle, leaving Lahore in early trouble. Mohammad Farooq then departed for two as the defending champions slipped further behind.
Abdullah Shafique and Haseebullah Khan tried to rebuild, but Quetta kept striking at regular intervals. Abdullah was removed for 17, while Lahore captain Shaheen Shah Afridi fell for a duck in the same over.
With the innings in trouble at 60-6, Haseebullah and Sikandar Raza added some resistance, but the recovery never really gathered momentum. Raza was dismissed after making a useful contribution, while Haseebullah top-scored with 33 off 37 balls.
Daniel Sams added a few runs late on, and Usama Mir gave Lahore something to cheer with a rapid 22 off just seven balls, including three sixes and a four, but the total still looked below par.
Quetta’s bowling effort was led by Usman Tariq and Jahandad Khan, who claimed three wickets each. Alzarri Joseph picked up two, while Saqib Khan chipped in with one.
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