Ronchi blitz fires Islamabad into second PSL final
Luke Ronchi smashes PSL's fastest half-century in Islamabad United's record win; Karachi Kings to meet winner of Quetta and Peshawar in eliminator
Luke Ronchi smashes PSL's fastest half-century in Islamabad United's record win; Karachi Kings to meet winner of Quetta and Peshawar in eliminator
Commentator: @sreshthx
11.13pm What a chase, wasn't it? Sometimes you just need to stop and admire a cricketing performance, and Ronchi's show tonight was testament to that. We've now identified our first finalist in the shape of Islamabad. Who will join them? That search still continues across the next two eliminators. Join us on Tuesday, then, for the first eliminator between Quetta and Peshawar. Till then, on behalf of Shashank Kishore, this is Sreshth Shah signing off. Bye bye!
11.00pm Time for the presentation. And here's Ramiz Raja, the presenter. No surprise, Luke Ronchi is the Man of the Match. He says: "One of those days when things click. I felt comfortable with what I was doing. Couple of dropped catches, everything went in my favour. The rest coming ahead will be good for us before the final. Just saw the ball really well, figured out a plan, was in the zone tonight. When you play the way I play, need luck sometimes."
Losing captain Eoin Morgan: "When you run into a guy with Ronchi's form, then he's very hard to stop. Tough for us, we weren't on the mark. We let him get in, and once he's in, he's hard to stop. We were 10-15 short with the bat and didn't start well with the ball. It's great to watch Ronchi bat that well, but terrible if you're facing him. Not sure why the catches went down. It wasn't too dewy either. We will figure things out."
Winning captain JP Duminy: "I didn't think it was going to be this easy a run chase. Sami set the tone with the ball, and it was one of those clinical performances. Dean Jones will be pretty happy with that. Ronchi's innings was the top 3 innings I've ever seen. He's a free-spirited guy who backs his game. When days like these come, you take it with both hands. Sami's unbelievable, isn't he? He's still fit to play international cricket. From a leadership point of view, it's a privilege for me to lead these boys. Looking forward to the final in Karachi."
Mohtashim: "Now i know what carnage looks like!!!"
10.54pm Sahibzada Farhan: When Ronchi plays like that, it gives me the added confidence. I thought I'll take over if he gets out, but he wasn't getting out today, so I decided to join the party. Today I played my natural game. We hope to keep this form going. We're excited to play in Pakistan, in Karachi. Our coaches work hard with us in the back, so I want to dedicate this innings to Vicky bhai (Waqar Younis)"
Irtaza: "How often in a cricket game do you see the batsman being disappointed that the ball went to the boundary ?"
10.50pm Islamabad United are through to the PSL final. What a masterclass from Luke Ronchi tonight. It's also the largest win - in terms of balls - in PSL history. He may have missed out on the 100, but I really doubt Ronchi cares. What domination, what hitting. If the other teams weren't scared already, they're now surely trembling at the prospect of the Islamabad batting in the final. Karachi, however, are not eliminated. They'll face the winners of the first Eliminator between Quetta and Peshawar.
Mickey Arthur and Dean Jones shake hands. Jones is delighted at his boys: hugs Ronchi and Patel. It could've been a tricky target, but Islamabad broke no sweat to chase it down. Let's see what the captains and the Man of the Match have to say. We'll have the presentation in a few minutes.
Imtiaz: "Probably one of the best bowling line up of PSL being belted by Ronchi & co"
Shane : "Looking at some of Ronchi's previous innings, he doesn't look like the guy who's concerned with personal milestones but it would be great see him get a 100. Such a clean hitter of the ball."
The Islamabad United captain has suffered a hairline fracture in the side of his hand, near the wrist
Luke Ronchi smashes PSL's fastest half-century in Islamabad United's record win; Karachi Kings to meet winner of Quetta and Peshawar in eliminator