The Quetta Gladiators’ effort is having troubles after troubles. Hours after it was confirmed their Platinum pick, Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga, would miss the entire PSL, they turned in a terrible performance against a ruthless Lahore Qalandars, bowing to a 63-run defeat.
In their matchup with the reigning champions, the 2019 champions were never in the hunt for 199, and the huge scoreboard did not give the Gladiators any favors.
With the ball, Shaheen Shah Afridi led his team, forcing the Gladiators out of the chase early on and occasionally practically knocking batters off their feet. A few top-order batters were stingingly struck by inaccurate inswinging yorkers; one saw Jason Roy fall flat on his stomach.
Abdul Bangalzai was out for a golden duck in the first over, which was obviously the required wicket. For the purpose of removing Mohammad Hafeez, he made a stunning diving catch. Odean Smith was ultimately tricked by a gorgeous pace trick. A Shaheen Afridi master class was taking place.
With the exception of Haris Rauf, every other member of the Qalandars bowling lineup had a strong performance. After bouncing back from a disappointing run in the SA20, Rashid Khan was at his brilliant best in his first game of the year.
Realistic prospects of a chase were ended by his dismissal of Roy, who struck a 30-ball 48 packed with five sixes, and his figures of 4-0-17-1 were well deserved. Even David Wiese was among the wickets, claiming 3 for 23 of his allocated wickets.
There were just short moments of fight from the Gladiators’ batters, and the result was already decided before the last delivery was bowled.
Tahir Baig and Fakhar Zaman launched Gladiators to an explosive start, giving early results of the direction this game was going. In the opening over of the Gladiators’ bowling, Mohammad Hafeez was attacked by Baig, who promptly hit him for two fours and a six.
With Baig scoring two boundaries in the powerplay on either side of square, not even Naseem Shah, who was out of sorts, would escape.
Before Fakhar hit a loose ball to the keeper, the partnership had advanced to 49 in just 27 balls.
However, the middle overs of the Qalandars innings were supported by a 56-run stand between Shai Hope and Kamran Ghulam.
Hussain Talat’s contribution and Sikandar Raza’s unstoppable late flurry, in which he scored 32 runs in 16 balls, guaranteed that Gladiators never really had a chance to catch their breath and that they were helpless to stop them from advancing towards 200.
With one notable exception, of course. The previous day, when Mohammad Hasnain lost against Peshawar Zalmi, he showed heroism, and today would be more of the same. He was spectacular once more, especially at the end of the game.
The only bowler who was actually able to stop Lahore in their tracks was him because he expertly mixed up the lengths and speeds. If not for his two final overs, which only gave 14 runs, Qalandars’ total and Gladiators’ margin of defeat would have been significantly higher.
Tonight’s match seemed to have shown that Qalandars’ loss to Karachi Kings was an accident, while Gladiators’ performance merely seemed to indicate that their triumph over the same opposition was also an accident.