Main talking points from Peshawar, Quetta wins

Photo Courtesy: PSL/Twitter The third day of Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) fourth edition saw Quetta Gladiators defeat Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi emerge victorious against Lahore Qalandars. Let’s look at some major takeaways from both matches. Islamabad United vs Quetta Gladiators Debutant Wayne Parnell impresses PSL debutant Wayne Parnell is pretty much the only positive Islamabad United can take from this game. Coming in to bat at number eight, with most of the top-order going back to the pavilion without scoring too many runs, Parnell smashed 41 off just 20 balls. The South African scored at a strike-rake of more than 200 and gave his bowlers a competitive total to defend. Shane Watson continues his PSL form Shane Watson took some time to get going, coming in to open the batting as Quetta started their chase of a 158-run target. But once he did, he never looked back. His unbeaten 81 off 55 balls was an innings of class as he hit six fours and four sixes at a strike-rate of 147. Watson carried the bat for Qalandars as they chased the target with 10 balls to spare. Islamabad United spun around by Quetta’s spinners Although medium-pacer Sohail Tanvir picked up four of Gladiators’ wickets, it was the left-arm Mohammad Nawaz and Australian leggy Fawad Ahmed that really troubled the United batsmen. Fawad Ahmed ended with exceptional figures of 15-3 while Nawaz was also superb, giving only 24 runs and dismissing the dangerous opener Rizwan Hussain. Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars Sensational bowling performance by Zalmi If there was any hope for Lahore to bag consecutive victories, it was blown away early on by Hasan Ali. Taking 4-15 in his four overs, Ali demolished the Qalandars’ top order. The rest of the cleaning up was left for Wahab Riaz as he took 3-17 and sent Lahore’s lower-order back to the pavilion with their tails between their legs. Umar Amin back into the limelight Hailing from Rawalpindi, Umar Amin was once considered a bright young talent for the national side but failed to make most of the chances he was given. Against Qalandar though, he showed how he was able to break into the national team. Hitting ten fours and a six in an unbeaten innings of 61, Amin managed to chase down the target easily after Peshawar had lost their openers early on. He played some mouth-watering cover drives that would’ve made Kumar Sangakkara proud. Lahore’s batting woes far from over If there was ever a time for AB de Villiers to step up and inspire confidence in his team, this would be it. None of the Qalandars batsmen could cross the 20-run mark, including de Villiers himself, and team was bowled out for an embarrassing 78 runs. New Zealand’s Anton Devcich was the top-scorer with 18 runs, while de Villiers scored 14 runs.