12.02am Well, we're past midnight in Sharjah and it's time to say goodbye. What a cracking game this has been. Hope you enjoyed ESPNcricinfo's coverage of tonight's PSL game. This is Sreshth Shah, on behalf of Alagappan Muthu, signing off. Adios!
11.55pm We're ready with the presentation.
Darren Sammy is the Man of the Match. He says: "We needed the win today. Quetta did well to bring it back after our start. Credit goes to our bowlers. Gul, in his first match, bowled excellent. And everyone else backed up. It was a good win. I always intended to bat today, that's why I didn't go to the MRI already. Even thought I told him I can't run, he believed in me. I've been in this situation before. Just had to look at the equation - it was just three hits away. It happened today. We're gonna enjoy tonight and come back again on Saturday."
Sarfraz Ahmed, the losing captain. He says: "We were discussing whether we should bowl a pacer or a spinner for the last over. See, the pacers brought the game back for us, and because of that we gave the final over to a pacer. In hindsight, we could've given it to a spinner, but pacers have bowled well. It is disheartening to lose this close game, but the boys showed a lot of heart. They will learn a lot from here. We need to improve our batting. We should've scored a bit more. We also need a bit more variation with our bowling."
11.45pm How often has Darren Sammy done this in T20 cricket?! Just when you thought Quetta's bowlers pulled things back, it's the Peshawar captain who brings all the fireworks to the crease. Two sixes, one dot, and one four. That's all he needed to do, and he's being congratulated by both teams. Extraordinary game of cricket. Quotes, presentations, reactions. Coming soon.
Here's Darren Sammy after his match-winning knock: "I just needed to hit three sixes, that's what I told the coach. Even if you hobble it's okay, just get a six. It's a great feeling to make the team win. Games against Quetta have always been classics. I'm going to go for an MRI scan tonight, and I think my knee has given way. I'm not sure yet, so hopefully I can take part in PSL 2018. We'll see what the scan shows. Experience definitely helps. I told myself: just two big hits and we could win. I believed myself, and it came off."
Bilal Aslam: "Sammy is a real Pathan, pains wont stop him from fighting!"
Muhammad Mubeen: "Sammmyyyyyyyyyyy. Do not remember the name. Remember this man and remember this innings, Cricketing world will surely see very little innings like this. Bravo!!!"
very interesting, with Sammy unable to run. Three off three needed
Nine off five balls
Ten for Peshawar to win. Eight and less means Quetta win. NIne runs mean a super over
END OF OVER:19 | 12 Runs 1 Wkt | PZ: 132/5 (10 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 6.94, RRR: 10.00)
- Daren Sammy6 (1b)
- Khalid Usman6 (8b)
- Rahat Ali4-0-35-1
- Mohammad Nawaz3-0-17-1
The Peshawar camp looks very nervous as the two batsmen have a chat in the middle. Huge conference between the Quetta players too. Atleast six of them having a chat.
Here's Sammy, with the long handle. He's at the non-striker's.
Sabbir Rahman c Umar Amin b Rahat Ali 11 (11b 1x4 0x6) SR: 100.00
false start... he's got to reload
Muhammad Mubeen: "Are we going to see another master class last over from the Nawaz like he did in the last PSL against the Zalmi where he defended 7 runs last over successfully? C'mon Gladiators, make it more interesting. "
END OF OVER:18 | 6 Runs | PZ: 120/4 (22 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 6.66, RRR: 11.00)
- Khalid Usman4 (5b)
- Sabbir Rahman7 (9b)
- Mohammad Nawaz3-0-17-1
- Shane Watson4-0-16-1
Darren Sammy has put his pads on. He's practicing his range hitting in the pavillion
Touseef A Rehan: "Today is Usman Khalid's Birthday. I hope he makes this birthday a memorable one"
Mazhar Shehzaad: "Zalmi choking against Quetta is one of the few things that have remained consistent throughout PSL 1,2 and 3. "
Mujtaba Malik: "A Bangladeshi batsman runs other one out? They were supposed to have better coordination than others, since they've been playing together for a long time.."
This match has turned on its head. Peshawar Zalmi need 28 off the final three overs. Nawaz here, who has gone for only 5.5 per over.
END OF OVER:17 | 5 Runs 1 Wkt | PZ: 114/4 (28 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 6.70, RRR: 9.33)
- Khalid Usman2 (3b)
- Sabbir Rahman3 (5b)
- Shane Watson4-0-16-1
- John Hastings4-0-25-1
Bilal: "Similar sort of outings for John Hastings on both days, a costly first over and a wonderful comeback. Maybe sarfaraz could ask him to bowl his first over in the nets before match."
No Sammy for now
Tamim Iqbal run out 36 (38b 3x4 1x6) SR: 94.73
Twenty six balls since the last boundary. That six seems a long time ago.
MahneelMusa: "Proud moment for a Bangladeshi fan seeing the two BD batsmen in crease at the same time. Love cricket, love globalisation!"
END OF OVER:16 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | PZ: 109/3 (33 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 6.81, RRR: 8.25)
- Sabbir Rahman2 (4b)
- Tamim Iqbal34 (36b)
- John Hastings4-0-25-1
- Anwar Ali3-0-26-0
Enough of the prediction talk, guys. This was fun. Time to get back to the action once again. What a terrific over from Hastings. Has pulled things back substantially for Quetta. Thirty-three runs needed off 24 balls