ISLAMABAD, (DNA) – As Quetta Gladiators came out to chase the small total of 122 runs, they were off to a flier with Shane Watson and Ahsan Ali racing to 49 runs in 5.5 overs, before the veteran all-rounder, Shahid Afridi got rid of the Australian batsman for 33 (25).The wicket hurt Gladiators’ scoring rate, which was further dented by Afridi once again when he cleaned up the young opening batsman, Ali. He scored 17 (15).However, after the two strikes in quick successions from Shahid Afridi, Ahmed Shehzad and Riley Rossouw took control of the game and contributed 48 runs together, which took Sultans to 103 and close a victory.Gladiators had a few hiccups at the end, losing Rossouw and Umar Akmal in quick successions, however, Ahmed Shehzad, after a nervous start took the charge and helped Gladiators to cross over the line.Shehzad remained unbeaten on 28 (35), while DJ Bravo scored 2 off 5 deliveries.Quetta Gladiators registered a convincing victory by six wickets, which have made their position better in the tournament. On the other hand, Multan Sultans’ position became weaker with their sixth defeat of the tournament.Earlier, Quetta Gladiators skipper, Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and elected to bowl first against Multan Sultans in a game played on Friday at Dubai International Stadium.James Vince and Umer Siddiq once again opened the inning for Multan Sultans, who were in desperate need to win this contest to stay alive in the tournament.Mohammad Nawaz did not take too long to prove his captain’s call of opting to bowl right as he removed Vince in just the second over of the inning, which put Sultans under pressure.Umer Siddiq could not score freely at the start of the game, but his partner, Johnston Charles was striking the ball decently, he also survived a wrong decision from the umpire on an appeal off a Fawad Ahmed delivery for an edge. Soon after that, he was dropped by Nawaz in the deep.However, the young Hasnain Ali, who bowled viciously fast in the match, got the breakthrough in shape of Umer Siddiq, who scored 14 runs off 23 deliveries.As Johnston Charles fell after scoring 46 off 36 balls, Multan Sultans’ batting line seemed to lose its way. Tom Moores and Daniel Christian could only contribute 9 and 2 runs respectively as they lost half of their side for 100 runs.The senior pros, Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi also failed to make a significant impact in the inning with 21 and 4 runs respectively, which restricted them to 121/10 in their quota of 20 overs.Sohail Tanvir and Dwayne Bravo remained the most successful bowlers with 3 for 19 each in their quote of four overs. Whereas, Mohammad Nawaz took two wickets. But, the highlight of Gladiators’ attack was Mohammad Hasnain who bowled with sheer pace throughout the inning and picked one wicket for 20 runs.
