© PCB
Quetta Gladiators 135 for 4 (Pietersen 48, Nawaz 25*) beat Islamabad United 134 for 7 (Ronchi 43, Misbah 22, Rahat 1-18) by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
In a nutshell
The first PSL game in Sharjah began with a crushing six-wicket win for Quetta Gladiators. They first stifled Islamabad United and restricted them to 134 despite some terrific top-order hitting from Luke Ronchi, whose 26-ball 43 accounted for a bulk of the runs. After his dismissal, however, Misbah-ul-Haq and JP Duminy, both playing their first games of the season, managed 36 off 51 balls between them. That Islamabad crossed 130 was courtesy a late charge from Faheem Ashraf. For Quetta, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Nawaz and Hasan Khan enjoyed successful spells.
Quetta’s response was spearheaded by Kevin Pietersen, who rode his luck initially before settling into ominous touch. When he did, he squashed any plans Misbah might have been harbouring to beat an unlikely path to victory, smashing three huge sixes en route to a 34-ball 48. Peripheral contributions from Mohammad Nawaz and Asad Shafiq and Shane Watson were more than enough to seal what was, in truth, a cakewalk for the two-time runners-up.
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Danyal Rasool is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Danny61000
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo