United | Pakistan

LAHORE: Quetta Gla­dia­tors sealed a spot in the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) with a clinical 30-run victory over Islamabad United in the Qualifier here at the Gadd­afi Stadium on Wednesday, thanks to brilliant contributions by Dinesh Chandi­mal, Faheem Ashraf and Usman Tariq. It was a statement win for Gladiators, who came into the match against the defending champions as the league stage’s table toppers and the Saud Shakeel-led side hardly felt the heat of the big occasion. After having posted 209-5, thanks to what proved to be a match-winning partnership between Chandimal and Faheem, Gladiators never really let United get away with the game as Usman took three wickets. Chasing the big total, United — who will now face the winners of the first Eliminator between Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars — scampered on their way to 45-1 in the powerplay, with opener Alex Hales playing Faheem’s pace onto his stumps early in the innings. The incoming Rassie van der Dussen responded to the slow start when he lifted...

RAWALPINDI: Having lost four matches in a row following five wins on the trot to open their HBL Pakistan Super League campaign, Islamabad United arrived here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday night with the intent to stamp their authority as the defending champions. To Karachi Kings’ horror, the holders went on to post a mammoth total before bundling Kings out cheaply as Shadab Khan led from the front, contributing both with the bat and the ball. The all-rounder’s batting effort — 42 off 19 with the help of three fours and as many sixes — was a cameo in the bigger scheme of things, which saw Sahibzada Farhan and Alex Hales smash blistering half centuries to help United to 251-5. But Shadab’s leg-spin accounted for four wickets at the expense of 45 runs, and that performance eventually defined the match, choking Kings batters through the middle of their chase as United won by 79 runs eventually. The result saw United replace Kings in the second spot in the PSL standings as the tournament’s league sta...