Twitter Reactions: Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali and Paul Stirling steer Islamabad United to victory

On account of the Covid-19 scare, the game between Islamabad United and the Quetta Gladiators had been postponed from Monday to Tuesday. After a player from Islamabad tested positive, various tests were conducted and it was announced that there was no threat to this game and it could smoothly be conducted today.

Islamabad won the toss and sent the Gladiators in to bat first. The batting side got off to a terrible start as they lost four wickets within the powerplay. A score of 41/4 after six overs meant that they needed to consolidate and up the scoring rate both at the same time.

Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz were involved in a handy 63-run partnership to guide their side to a respectable score. Sarfaraz led from the front as he scored 54 runs in only 41 balls. His inning included three boundaries and four sixes. Nawaz on the other end played a supporting knock scoring 31 runs at almost a run a ball.

Faheem Ashraf stars with the ball to reduce Quetta to a below-par score

The lack of an aggressive finish meant that the side finished with only 156 runs on the board. Faheem Ashraf was undoubtedly the best in the pack as he took three wickets conceding only 11 runs in his four overs. Hasan Ali too was impressive as he secured two wickets conceding less than six runs an over.

Looking at the results in the tournament thus far it was evident that a score of 157 would not be sufficient enough. However, the Quetta side did have a good bowling line-up and a few early wickets could have taken the game either way.

Chasing 157, Paul Stirling and Alex Hales started off with a bang. They attacked from both ends and took their team to a score of 76 runs by the end of the powerplay. Alex lost his wicket in the sixth over after scoring 23 runs but he had done his job.

Stirling who made 56 runs was the top scorer for his side. He got good support from the other batsman and they cruised to a six-wicket win with three overs to spare. Zahid Mahmood was the only positive takeaway for the Gladiators as he bowled well to secure two wickets in his four overs. They have now lost four in four and will find it very tough to make a comeback.

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