What a match and what a PSL! Just when you think you have seen everything, there is another twist in each of these matches. Here are some thoughts all of us had while watching the insane match between Zalmi and Gladiators
Cricket mai no dosti, no sorry, no thank you
Ahmad Shahzad hits Afridi for sixes with the vengeance of a jilted ex. Gone are the heydays of their bromance – only thing left for us is the sight of Afridi looking at Ahmad Shahzad in this match with eyes saying “Et Tu, Brute?”
Brian Lara was majestic, Sachin was perfect, Ricky was text book but for me there is nothing more exhilarating than watching Kevin Pietersen stand up to a fast bowler with his 6 foot 2” tattooed frame and whack him for six. The way this man dominates a bowling attack – combining brute force with timing and technique - is pure class. Players like Gayle and Afridi may win you any match if it is their day but with Kevin Pietersen you just expect him to do it every match.
Watching Ahmed Shahzad and Kevin Pietersen hit it out of the park literally made you think a score over 230 was on. Pakistani teams are not known for scoring over 200 runs in a T20 match but this was the perfect platform.
Somehow Quetta barely mustered to 200. It wouldn’t feel like Pakistan if there wasn’t a batting collapse.
It has been a weird PSL. Chasing 60 was a monumental task whereas 200 has been chased down. Was scoring 200 going to prove to be unlucky for Quetta Gladiators?
It is rare for a Pakistani fast bowler to be best remembered for his bowling performance in a U19 match but last night Anwar Ali bowled as well as he ever has, constantly bamboozling Kamran Akmal in the first over, in which he only conceded a single run.
The start Peshawar Zalmi got made you think we were in for an early night. Another collapse, easy victory for Quetta Gladiators and enough time to get some sleep.
Is it a plane? Is it a bird? No, it’s the Professor hitting the ball out of the park. When have we last seen Mohammad Hafeez be this aggressive? Bet Steyn isn’t laughing now.
Wides? An over that lasts forever? Tymall Mills really found his inner Mohammad Sami last night.
Very few teams can stop Shahid Afridi when he is on form – so much so that he is hitting the ball out of the stadium on the off side.
Quetta really should have gotten more. They had the perfect platform.
Well it wouldn’t matter – Afridi has a strike rate of 300.
Surely not?
It wouldn’t be Afridi without trying to hit one too many balls out of the park but surely he has done enough to ensure victory for Peshawar Zalmi?
Darren Sammy refused to take a single? Thankfully they just need 7 from the last over otherwise this would have come back to really haunt him.
Chris Jordan loses his wicket but there is still Wahab Riaz to come and they just need two runs now. Two runs of three balls.
There was no need to run there – you had no idea where the ball was. Surely Peshawar cannot lose to Quetta by a single run at this stage of the tournament again this year.
Admirable how the captain is keeping his cool under so much pressure. Shades of MS Dhoni? Glad to finally have a proactive captain.
If there is one thing Pakistan has a lot of it is left arm spinners who do not spin the ball –even then Mohammad Nawaz deserves his plae in the Pakistan national team! Cometh the hour, cometh the man. What a final over!
I don’t care if I am from Karachi I will support Quetta Gladiators all the way!
It is not a cliché if you don’t at least repeat the joke twice – or a million times.
He probably had an acceptance speech ready.
My heart cannot take so many close finishes.
As unpredictable as the PSL has been this year, it would take a very brave person to bet on the outcome of these matches.
We just have two more matches before PSL goes away for another year. Time to savour each and every ball. It really has been a tournament to remember!
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