PSL 2017: Lahore Qalandars bag an easy win against Islamabad United

Lahore Qalandars bagged an easy win against Islamabad United in the fourth fixture of the Pakistan Super League, played at the Dubai Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

Qalandars ended their inning in style as they chased down Islamabad United's total of 158 runs, with Sunil Narine hitting the winning boundary on a Rumman Raees delivery.

The Lahore Qalandars had raced to the 100-run mark in the 12th over as opener Jason Roy and No4 batsman Umer Akmal kept rotating the strike while hitting sensible boundaries whenever possible.

Umer Akmal departed from the field after scoring 35 off 26 balls, when a miss-timed pull on Shane Watson's delivery landed the ball straight to the fielder in deep mid-wicket.

Jason Roy, who held the fort after Umer Akmal's untimely departure, reached his 50 in the 16th over.

The same also saw off No5 batsman Grant Elliot, who contributed only three runs to the total. Elliot had tried to sweep a flat delivery from Saeed Anwar, which landed in the hands of Asif Ali standing at backward square-leg.

No3 batsman Fakhar Zaman's short, stuttering inning ended as United's Mohammad Sami bowled a short delivery on middle and leg, which was handed back to the bowler's hand by Zaman as he tried to lob it towards mid-wicket.

Earlier, opener Brendon McCullum left for the pavilion after scoring 25 quick runs off ten balls, driving the ball straight to the fielder at deep square leg while trying to score a fifth boundary.

Islamabad United's inning

Islamabad United had managed to put a decent 158-run total on the board as Misbah-ul-Haq (61*) tried his best to return pressure to Lahore Qalandars even as wickets kept falling at regular intervals.

Misbah raises his bat to the crowd after scoring 50 runs. — DawnNews

Mohammad Sami was the last man to leave the pitch for the pavilion on the second-last ball of the inning. Sohail Tanvir had bowled a slower ball to him, which Sami had lofted right into Fakhar Zaman's hands.

An unfortunate misunderstanding earlier led to Shadab Khan's dismissal, as he was run out by the wicket-keeper after attempting a run while Misbah refused to budge from his crease.

Sunil Narine had Asif Ali out for just one run as he tried to slog the ball to deep mid-wicket, but fell with Elliot taking a sitting catch.

Shane Watson had to leave for the pavilion as Grant Elliot took his fourth wicket of the day.

The hundred had come up for United in the 15th over, shortly before Watson departed.

Brad Haddin was bowled out by a full and straight ball from Elliot, which was edged straight into Yasir Shah's waiting hands.

Yasir Shah's brilliant catch. — DawnNews

Dwayne Smith followed Billings, he was taken out by Grant Elliot as he continued to bowl from stump to stump. He contributed 31 runs to the team's score.

Early in the match, the batting side was quick to settle in as they put up 50 runs on the board in six quick overs. Both openers had built pressure on the Qalandar bowlers under pressure by hitting a couple of boundaries in each over as they rotated strike regularly.

Islamabad United made three changes to their squad after two of its players were suspended and sent packing and one was investigated amidst a match-fixing scandal that rocked the league on the second day of play.

United's side substituted Rumman Raees for Muhammad Irfan, Asif Ali for Sharjeel Khan, and Shadab Khan for Imad Butt.