Another excellent bowling display from Sialkot. They have defended twice in a row successfully and they will be proud. For Abbottabad, they have chased 200 a couple of times in the past but today they were against a quality side that didn't allow them to.
We have one more game today. Lahore Blues and Karachi Blues will go head on against each other. Do switch tabs and tune in for that game.
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to take your leave on behalf of my colleagues Deepak Prakash, Manish Bishnoi and Zeeshan Naiyer. B-byeee
Usama Mir (Sialkot Captain): "I am trying to help in the right areas. It is difficult to hit the leg spinners if they bowl in good places. I was surprised how the batters so easily smoked me for sixes and then had to bowl a very good ball to get rid of them. I tried to be creative and varied my pace to deceive the batters.
The combination we played in the first game was a good one. We got better in the second game. Now with the introduction of Shoaib Akhtar, we have become stronger I feel. The kid bowled really well I feel."
Khalid Usman (Abbottabad Region Captain): "We don’t rely on just one player, but we didn’t play well in the powerplay and lost wickets in the middle phase. We bowled well in the powerplay, but lost the plot in the middle overs and conceded a little too much. The tournament is still open for everyone now, and we will look to win the next game and qualify for the semifinals."
Abdullah Shafique (POTM): "I needed this kind of form heading into the PSL, and it will help me a lot. As a batter, you want your presence at the crease to make the opposition feel that if you stay there for long, the game could slip away from them."
Player of the Match: Abdullah Shafique
It's time for the post-match presentation......
9:07 PM IST and 8:37 PM Local Time: Sialkot win by 31 runs! Another complete bowling performance from Sialkot and twice in two games they have defended successfully here in Peshawar! Led by Captain Usama Mir, the bowlers have shown great character.
Abbottabad won the toss and elected to field first. The openers could not make much of an impact from the Sialkot side. They were reduced to 25-2 inside 3 overs. However, that is when the match-defining partnership between Hassan Nawaz and Abdullah Shafique took place. The latter was the aggressor in that and at one point struck three sixes on the bounce.
The pair added 145 runs for the third wicket. It was Hassan who was dismissed for 57 and that is when the 3rd wicket fell for 170. A few wickets fell at the backend of the innings and the Abbottabad bowlers got their accuracy back. However, the most disheartening was the one of Abdullah Shafique who was dismissed for 96.
What looked like 225 was reduced to 202/6 with some fine death bowling. The pick of the bowlers from Abbottabad was Shahab Khan who picked up a stunning 5-25! With the wickets getting slower in the tournament, a 200+ chase was always going to be tough.
The chase began on a very slow note for Abbottabad and frankly they could never cover up. They were reduced to 27/2 in 5 overs courtesy some fine bowling from Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Ali.
Shadab Khan and Sajjad Hashmi led a fine counterattack but the introduction of Captain Usama Mir made both batters perish within one over. A mini collapse took place as from 66/2, Abbottabad collapsed to 87/5. The spinners from Sialkot once again took a fine charge.
Raza Ullah provided some late belief as he started striking the ball hard. However, the ask was too much and he fell for a 12-ball 25. The score stood at 124/6. Two more quick wickets fell and the score was a poor 139/8 at one point. Some late hitting from Atizaz Khan pushed the score past 150 and the Abbottabad side eventually wrapped for 171. The pick of the bowlers for Sialkot were Usama Mir (4-42) and Muhammad Ali (2-23). Another superb show with the ball and Sialkot are deserving winners.