LAHORE, Pakistan, CMC – West Indies pacer Odean Smith had negligible returns in the Pakistan Super League on Thursday when Quetta Gladiators stumbled to a 17-run defeat against Lahore Qalandars.
Smith grabbed one for 27 from his allotted four overs, and the Gladiator’s attack of which he was a part dismissed the Qalandars for 148 in 19.2 overs in the latest tournament match at Gaddafi Stadium.
The Jamaican, batting at eight, made only 11 and was one of the three wickets for 22 from four overs for pacer Haris Rauf, and the Gladiators were restricted to 131 for seven, though they batted the full quota of 20 overs.
The result fortified Qalandars in the top spot in the standings with 10 points with five wins from six matches and Gladiators in the bottom area on two points with only a single win from the same number of games.
Gladiators started the chase strongly with an opening stand of 53 between top-scorer Will Smeed and Pakistan international Yasir Shah.
Shah was caught behind Rauf for 14 off the final ball of the Power Play. Still, the wickets of Smeed lbw to Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan for the top score of 32 the next over and Mohammad Hafeez run four for two in the 10th over destabilized the Gladiators.
They reached 62 for three at the halfway stage, but apart from their captain Sarfraz Ahmed, who was not out for 27, none of the other batters brought the durability to help them make a serious assault on the target.
Earlier, Zimbabwe international Sikandar Raza struck eight fours and three sixes in an unbeaten 71 off 34 balls to prop up the Qalandar’s batting after they were sent into bat.
The Qalandar’s top order imploded, and they were struggling on 50 for seven in the 10th over when Raza came to their rescue, sharing 69 with Khan for the eighth wicket.
Smith got Khan caught at long-off for 21 in the 16th over, and Raza dominated the closing overs to add runs that proved crucial.
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