Colin Munro (90* off 36) and Usman Khawaja (41* off 27) guided Islamabad United to humiliate Quetta Gladiators by 10 wickets in Match 18 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. The victory took Islamabad to second position in the points table, with four wins in six games. Quetta, on the other hand, still languish at the bottom, with just one win.
Earlier, Quetta lost Faf du Plessis (6) early after Shadab Khan won the toss and asked them to bat. Usman Khan (14) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (2) did not last either. From 49/3, Jake Weatherald (43) and Azam Khan (26) took Quetta to 88 before the latter fell to Hasan Ali (2-24).
Coming at No. 6, Andre Russell (13 off 6) smashed two massive sixes before falling to Muhammad Musa (2-38). But apart from Weatherald and Azam, no Quetta batter scored in excess of 15. They were bowled out for 133 on the final ball of the innings.
Mohammad Wasim Jr returned impressive figures of 4-0-12-2 for Islamabad. He was ably supported by Akif Javed (4-0-18-1). Shadab finished with 1-33.
Chasing a mere 134, Colin Munro hit four fours in the opening over of Naseem Shah. Usman Khawaja played second fiddle to Munro as the pair acquired 97 runs in the Powerplay. Quetta bowlers seemed helpless in the middle as the Islamabad openers reached the target with 10 overs to spare, becoming the first side in the PSL history to achieve the feat.
Brief Scores
Quetta Gladiators 133 in 20 overs (Jake Weatherald 43; Mohammad Wasim Jr 2-12) lost to Islamabad United 137/0 in 10 overs (Colin Munro 90*) by 10 wickets with 60 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Colin Munro.