Tearaway quick Naseem Shah was the most intimidating bowler among the Quetta Gladiators' line-up as he cranked up the pace on numerous occasions.
The teenage fast bowling prodigy disturbed the timber twice during his fearsome spell and starred in the death overs by accurately darting in thunderbolts in the blockhole.
Naseem Shah rattled the stumps on two occasions and rocked Islamabad United's top order in front of their home crowd ??#HBLPSLV #TayyarHain #CricketForAll #PEL #ChangeYourLife pic.twitter.com/ydX2scesmz
— Cricingif (@_cricingif) February 27, 2020
Naseem's peak moment arrived when he nipped the ball back into the left-handed Dawid Malan to uproot the middle stump.
Islamabad United skipper Shadab Khan has emerged as a rejuvenated batsman ever since he has promoted himself to the top-order.
Fresh from a majestic fifty in the nail-biter against Lahore Qalandars, Shadab belted tremendous strokes once again in his impactful stay at the crease against Quetta.
SHADAB KHAN IS MAN ON A MISSION ??
— Cricingif (@_cricingif) February 27, 2020
Islamabad United have raced to 97/3 after 10 overs against Quetta Gladiators in Rawalpindi#HBLPSLV #TayyarHain #CricketForAll pic.twitter.com/2XTW9HX0WW
His innings was laced with three boundaries and two maximums including a muscular thrash to Cutting, who paid the price for erring in length.
The veteran Colin Ingram was the top run-scorer in the match with a magnificent contribution of 63 from 40 deliveries.
COLIN INGRAM JOINS THE PARTY ??
— Cricingif (@_cricingif) February 27, 2020
Islamabad United are 107/3 after 11 overs against Quetta Gladiators #HBLPSLV #TayyarHain #CricketForAll pic.twitter.com/lVcT0in2Ny
His six off Tymal Mills' bowling saw him superbly ramp a rising bouncer over deep third man's head, managing to use the pace of the ball to find the precise elevation.
Left-arm spinner Ahmed Safi Abdullah, playing just his second PSL game, kept things tight for his team and was the most economical bowler for Islamabad United.
The youngster provided a crucial breakthrough when he snapped the prized scalp of the in-form Azam Khan.
The bulky right-handed batsman was guilty of chopping the ball onto his stumps as Abdullah wheeled away in celebration.
Mohammad Nawaz played second fiddle to man-of-the-match Ben Cutting as he conjured a sparkling 25 not out from 20 balls.
Nawaz's solid technique was on display against right-arm pacer Faheem Ashraf when he pierced the narrow gap between backward point and short third man with surgical precision off a yorker-length delivery.
Cutting was the game-changer for Quetta Gladiators, helping his team prevail in a close contest that went right down to the wire.
The Australian all-rounder remained nerveless despite the climbing asking rate and deposited a couple of maximums in the final over of the game to outwit the strong opposition.
Cutting was equal to the task against Amad Butt's canny slower ones as he stayed back to hammer the last six that ultimately sealed the game for the Gladiators.