This match was the perfect opportunity for cricket to emphasize how much of a team sport it is. Hardly ever does a T20 fast bowler turn in a performance like Mohammad Hasnain did today while being on the losing team, but the Quetta Gladiators’ weak batting effort made sure of that.
Peshawar Zalmi, in contrast, had a single player who could compete with Hasnain’s feats of bravery, but enough of their players performed just about enough to defeat Hasnain’s side, with a skillful team effort outperforming a lone, courageous one-man rescue effort.
The Gladiators needed early wickets since they needed to defend 155 runs in order to win, especially after Mohammad Haris gave Zalmi a flying start in the opening two overs.
He and the little Saim Ayub were taken off of Hasnain’s first two deliveries as a result. In his successive over, he eliminated Tom Kohler-Cadmore, and it quickly became clear that he was the only person standing between a Zalmi moderate speed and a Quetta heist.
The modest total meant that one burst partnership between Rovman Powell and James Neesham was just about enough. Naseem Shah offered capable support, allowing just 19 runs and grabbing a wicket.
Before Naseem’s perfect yorker finished off the Jamaican, the two had put together 46 runs in five overs. Neesham left the field shortly after, but not before smashing Qais Ahmed for two fours and a six, leaving his team 21 runs down.
Hasnain’s death bowling performance in the 17th over against Wahab Riaz was masterful, but with Naseem out and bowled, the Gladiators lacked the strength to hold on to 19 in 18 balls.
Wahab ended the game with two boundaries against Mohammad Nawaz, who for some reason frequently finds himself in situations like this, and it only took Zalmi nine more balls to arrive at the destination.
After the Gladiators got just one run in the first two overs, with Zalmi’s hold remaining strong during the powerplay, it appeared that they would wind up with a score below par.
Jason Roy was scratchy as he played down the wrong line to a superb Usman Qadir googly, and Martin Guptill struggled to regain the explosive form that drove him to three figures against Karachi.
The best bowler for Zalmi, Qadir, also trapped Nawaz in front, eliminating the Gladiators’ hitters’ main source of resistance. In order to make sure they would post something defendable, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Iftikhar Ahmed first coordinated, then ticked off.
The late onslaught was launched by 17 off Shanaka’s 14th over, and After Sarfaraz was cleaned out for a good 39, Iftikhar was in his element.
In a recent exhibition game, he had hit Wahab Riaz for six sixes, and on Monday, he sent down a seventh off the first ball he encountered from Zalmi’s ace.
Neesham was hit for three consecutive boundaries by Odean Smith before Iftikhar finished the innings with an unbeaten 50 off just 34 balls. It indicated that the final 7 overs produced 97 runs.
It was still much below what could have been justified, and as Hasnain discovered to his disadvantage, his teammates had fallen short in a contest in which he possibly couldn’t have contributed any more.