Peshawar, Quetta split points after rain plays spoilsport
sharjah — This may well have been England but this may well have put the fickle English weather to shade.
First, it was a sandstorm late Friday afternoon as a massive crowd were still trying to make their way through the turnstiles for the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) double-header at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Then rains made several disruptions, so much so that, it was tough to keep track of how many rain stoppages there were.
The groundsmen had a field day, quite literally, putting the covers on the pitch and the rest of the area and pulling them off.
Sharjah which holds the Guinness World Record for the highest number of One Day Internationals — 226, could well have another record of having the most number of rain stoppages.
The players and the umpires scampered for cover each time the rains decided to make an appearance. It was a tad disappointing not just for the players but the huge holiday crowd that had turned up to watch the Friday blockbuster, ‘The Battle of the Pathans,’ between Peshawar Zalmi and the Quetta Gladiators.
And after innumerable stoppages, the match was finally abandoned due to rain with the teams sharing a point each.
Earlier, as the sandstorm covered faces, Peshawar Zalmi were put in by Quetta Gladiators captain Sarfraz Ahmed.
The Zalmis had reached 28 for no loss in 3.4 overs when the first spell of rain appeared. Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal was on 17 and his partner Mohammad Hafeez was on six then.
After play had restarted, the Quetta Gladiators had managed to prise out three wickets, those of Hafeez, Kamran Akmal and England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan.
But then, the rain reappeared yet again with the Zalmis on 72 for 3 in 12 overs with Iqbal on 32 and Sohaib Maqsood on 16.
After many more interruptions, the Zalmis finished at 117 for 3 in the rain-reduced 16 overs, leaving the Quetta Gladiators a revised target of 125 to get in 16 overs.
In between all of it, southpaw Iqbal made an unbeaten 46-ball 62 with four boundaries and an equal number of sixes. Maqsood was unbeaten on 30 from 24 balls with two boundaries and a six.
The rain didn’t relent though and some more stoppages later, the target was reduced to 55 from six overs, effectively 55 from 36 balls, before it was rain again. And it was perhaps fair to call it off.
james@khaleejtimes.com