Imad Wasim stars as Islamabad United edge closer to final

Imad Wasim starred with the ball as Islamabad United took one step closer to the PSL 2024 final by defeating Quetta Gladiators in the first eliminator. As a result, Islamabad will now face Peshawar Zalmi in the second eliminator on Saturday (March 16) with the winner set to face Multan Sultans in the summit clash.

Mohammad Amir gave Quetta a good start with the ball which was soon nullified by Martin Guptill in the second over when he hit a hat-trick of boundaries. Abrar Ahmed was then hammered for two sixes in a single over by Alex Hales but Akeal Hosein at the other end kept things tight and ended up dismissing the Englishman at the same time. After a lull, Guptill and Agha Salman went on a boundary spree to put Islamabad in a very strong position at the halfway mark.

Even after Salman's dismissal, Shadab Khan chipped in with a cameo and Azam Khan came out firing on all cylinders smashing two sixes and a four in his 6-ball 18. But these two failing to kick on made a difference as Islamabad ended up posting only 174 on the board as a result of a flurry of wickets at the end despite Guptill's fifty. That total proved to be more than enough eventually as Imad took charge in the powerplay.

The left-arm spinner struck in the first over of the chase by removing Shakeel for a five-ball duck. Two balls later, Jason Roy edged Naseem Shah behind to the slip cordon. Quetta lost three wickets in three overs when Imad slowed the pace again on a surface that was aidiing spin and Rilee Rossouw perished after failing to get a clean connection. Imad then capped off a brilliant spell in the powerplay by bagging another wicket which was immediately followed by a run out that stunned the batting side. At 16/5, there was no way back for Quetta.

Omair Yousuf, who was watching the procession from one end, managed to score a half-century and Quetta also had the likes of Hosein and Amir chip in with valuable cameos filled with boundaries. But those blows in the powerplay had done enough damage as the chasing side fell short quite comfortably in the end.

Brief scores: Islamabad United 174/9 in 20 overs (Martin Guptill 56, Agha Salman 31; Mohammad Amir 2/20) beat Quetta Gladiators 135 in 18.4 overs (Omair Yousuf 50, Akeal Hosein 31; Imad Wasim 3/12) by 39 runs