LAHORE: Three-time champions Islamabad United helped debutants Rawalpindis reduce the score to a low score in the 12th match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.
Despite Kamran Ghulam’s half-century, United skipper Shadab Khan’s decision to bat first paid off as the Bindis managed to post 156/7 in 20 overs.
The Pintis got off to a poor start to their innings as Richard Gleeson dismissed both their openers Yasir Khan and skipper Mohammad Rizwan for just 15 runs in four overs for two each.
Meanwhile, Ghulam, who came out to bat at No. 3, took control of the Pindis’ batting duties and tried to recover by putting together a 51-run partnership for the third wicket with Daryl Mitchell, who contributed 19 off 15 balls.
The right-handed batsman continued following Mitchell’s dismissal and smashed United skipper Shadab for a six in the final ball of the 11th over to bring up his third PSL half-century in 37 balls.
However, he failed to convert his half-century into a big game as Faheem Ashraf dropped him on the fourth delivery of the next over, leaving Bindis to score 50 off 39 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes.
Following his dismissal, Bintis continued to lose wickets at regular intervals despite outstanding contributions from Abdullah Fazal and Dion Forrester who scored 23 and 44 runs respectively.
Pacers Salman Irshad, Gleeson and Faheem jointly led United’s bowling with two wickets each, while veteran all-rounder Imad Wasim chipped in with a scalp.