Pre-Match Story!
Following an easy win against Islamabad United last night which brought them above their opponents except Karachi Kings in HBL PSL 2018 Points Table, Quetta Gladiators will now face the Defending Champions Peshawar Zalmi on Thursday at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Having played most number of T20s against Peshawar Zalmi of all Franchises, Quetta Gladiators share an equal results as out of seven matches between them, they won three games each whereas one match ended without generating any result.
After the completion of nine T20s in Pakistan Super League (PSL) third edition, all six teams have so far played three matches each. Quetta Gladiators won two matches and grabbed 4 points while Peshawar Zalmi just clinched one victory; therefore, they just have 2 points.
Though Quetta Gladiators have been a bit unlucky in PSL as they featured in both Finals in 2016 and 2017 but didn’t conquer the last battles; however, they possess the best winning percentage (63.63%) among all teams except Multan Sultans (winning percentage 66.66%) which were not part of first two PSL editions, and have played just three T20s in the league history.
Earlier last night, Kevin Pietersen with his quick-fire 48 runs steered Quetta Gladiators to their second win in the tournament.
Quetta Gladiators’ bowler didn’t allow Islamabad United’s batsmen to accelerate the run rate, and curtailed them to just 134 runs in 20 overs. New Zealand’s Luke Ronchi remained the top scorer for Islamabad United followed by Captain Misbah-ul-Haq with 22 runs.
In response, Quetta Gladiators reached the target in 17.1 overs with six wickets still in hand. Kevin Pietersen received Man of the Match award; he hit three 6s and four 4s in his 48.
