QUE vs ISL: Match Preview, PSL 2022- Quetta Gladiators vs Islamabad United, Pakistan Super League 2022 Match 10

The 10^th match of the Pakistan Super League 2022 will have Quetta Gladiators take on Islamabad United on Thursday. National Stadium in Karachi will host the highly-anticipated clash.

After registering a 9-wicket win in the first game, Islamabad United went down to Multan Sultans by 20 runs on Tuesday. They currently occupy the number two position with 2 points to their name.

Quetta Gladiators, on the other hand, have managed to win only 1 match out of 3 games and, thus, are sitting at number three on the points table. Here’s a look in detail at how the two teams have performed so far in the tournament.

QUE vs ISL: Match Preview, PSL 2022- Quetta Gladiators vs Islamabad United, Pakistan Super League 2022 Match 10

Islamabad United:

Islamabad United began its campaign with a thumping nine-wicket win over Peshawar Zalmi. However, they couldn’t replicate a similar performance in their second game against Multan Sultans.

Tim David and Rilee Rossouw wreaked havoc with the bat as Islamabad United conceded as many as 217 runs in the first innings. Barring Shadab Khan, all the other bowlers conceded plenty of runs. In reply, Islamabad United fought hard but end up 20 runs short of the target.

All the top four batsmen got starts and played aggressively but couldn’t go on to convert those into big scores. Paul Sterling (19 off 10) and Alex Hales (23 off 14) put on 22 runs for the opening wicket in 2 overs before the former got out.  Rahmanullah Gurbaz also hit a four and a six but was guilty of throwing away his starts.

At 11.5 overs, Islamabad United had scored 114 for 5. However, what followed was a sensational knock from Shadab Khan. The Islamabad United skipper smashed the bowlers to all parts of the ground and kept the hopes alive right till the end. He scored an outstanding knock of 91 runs in 42 deliveries, a knock which was laced with 5 fours and 9 overs. He, unfortunately, got out in the 19^th over and the match was all but over by then.

Quetta Gladiators:

Quetta Gladiators, on the other hand, have lost two out of three matches and only have 2 points in three games. They fell just 6 runs short in the last game by against Multan Sultans and, thus, would be desperate to get back to winning ways.

Multan Sultans, batted first, in that encounter and managed to score 174 runs in the first innings. M Hasnain bowled exceedingly well for his 2 for 27. James Faulkner (1 for 22 in 4 overs) also fared quite well during his four-over spell, however, the other bowlers failed to impress. Naseem Shah, who picked a five-for, in the game played before this one, went for 42 runs without picking a single wicket in his four-over spell.

In response to that, Quetta Gladiators managed 168 runs in the second innings, thereby falling 6 runs short of the target. The openers couldn’t give the team the start that they were looking for. Besides, Ben Duckett scored 47 runs in 32 deliveries, a knock which was laced with 6 fours and 1 six. He would be gutted to not have stayed there till the end.

Half of the side went back to the hut inside 14 overs with 105 runs on the board. However, Iftikhar Ahmed kept the hopes alive with some serious ball striking. He made 30 runs in 13 deliveries, including 1 four and 3 sixes. He, unfortunately, got out in the 18^th over of the innings, and the game was all but over for Quetta Gladiators after that.

As per reports, Jason Roy and James Vince have arrived in Pakistan today. However, due to quarantine rules in place, they are unlikely to participate in the match against Islamabad United.