Peshawar steal one-run win, Quetta knocked out
The silly and the sublime came together in Lahore for a riveting finish as Peshawar Zalmi booked their place in the second qualifier and increased their chances of becoming back-to-back champions
The silly and the sublime came together in Lahore for a riveting finish as Peshawar Zalmi booked their place in the second qualifier and increased their chances of becoming back-to-back champions
Commentator: Sreshth Shah
11.50pm That's all from Lahore tonight. Quetta Gladiators' season comes to an end but we still have two games to go in this tournament. Tomorrow we meet again for the second eliminator to see who will join Islamabad United in the finals. Will it be Peshawar who come up on top tomorrow or will Karachi's rampage continue? Guess we'll find out in 24 hours. For now, it's goodbye from all of us at ESPNcricinfo. See you soon!
11.40pm Time for the presentation. Hasan Ali (2-21) is the Man of the Match. He says: "As long as we win, it's okay to win late. The last over was a lot of pressure because of Anwar's sixes. The way Sarfraz played, we felt the pressure back then too. I am fit now, both with the new ball and the old ball. Finally, a big thank you to the Lahore crowd."
Losing captain Sarfraz Ahmed: "The match was in our hand, and I feel we lost the game because of our own errors. Nawaz and I shouldn't have been out that time. If we were sensible off the last ball, we could've had the super over, but the pressure got the better of the boys at the end. The way the pitch was, it didn't matter whether we batted first or second today. Our journey this year has been full of ups and downs, but Nadeem (our owner) has been excellent. Hope to come back stronger next year."
Winning captain Darren Sammy: "Needing 25, you tend to back your own team. The games against Quetta are always excellent, the crowd was great too, and honestly, a win is a win. At the start of the tournament, we lost some players. So, credit goes to these guys. Our coaches worked with the boys, and today, I needed them to step up. Sameen's two wickets were crucial, Asif was great, but our two seniors: Wahab and Hasan showed their class. Dawson the way he batted, without that innings we wouldn't be hear today. We enjoy this win, but need to take on Karachi again. Got to come back and do the basics right. Hopefully, we can continue this."
zulfi: "from Argentina losing final to Germany and twice to Chile, to Quetta losing two consecutive finals with RCB losing the final too... What should there fans like me do....? wait for SA to win WCup?"
Tariq: "Dawson made two fifties today. While batting, and bowling as well."
Saqib: "Why Hamza didn't run???? Poor running cost the match. "
Adnan: "Remember those 5 over throws?? "
11.27pm Another classic Peshawar-Quetta encounter tonight. Dawson conceded 23 off that final over, but Quetta fall short by a solitary run. The Quetta fans are in tears. Hafeez, Dawson, Kamran, Sammy celebrate! Quetta fall short to Peshawar once again but they'll think of all the 'what ifs'. The double-wicket over that included the dismissals of Sarfraz and Nawaz, the extra runs conceded in the field, the overthrow that went for four, all of that will hurt Quetta tonight. Peshawar are through to the second eliminator, where they face Karachi Kings tomorrow.
Don't forget Dawson's contribution with the bat, though. He was the only one to score a fifty today, and it was his 35-ball 62 that even took Peshawar to 157. Even if Peshawar would've lost tonight, it was his batting that gave their bowlers some sort of target to work with.
Mir Hamza run out 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Quetta need 3. Two for a super over
Quetta need 9 off two
Sid: "Not taking away anything from his commitment, but why did Sammy play this game when he is clearly unfit? It is different if you got injured during the game and you give your 100% to help your team, but it doesn't make any sense to play when you start limping from the first ball you face. Easy target on the field to pick up singles, and a liability while batting to rotate the strike. "
Liam Dawson to bowl the final over. Quetta need 25. Anwar Ali has taken his helmet off
Mazahir: "When he (Wahab Riaz) is on song, he really means business, brilliant bowling by him."
Waleed : "So who's gonna captain Karachi tommorow as imad is injured and Morgan not coming to pakistan..??" -- Shahid Afridi
Muhammad Arif: "We, the people of Pakistan want to thank all the foreign players for coming to Pakistan... Especially sir Sammy and sir Richards... Love and respect from the people of Pakistan."
"Hurting" after the one-run loss to Peshawar Zalmi, the Quetta Gladiators head coach lamented the loss of Shane Watson and Kevin Pietersen, who had led them to the playoffs
Peshawar had been consigned to one-run losses in the last two seasons in the playoffs. This year, they managed to get over the line by some fortune. By one run, of course
The silly and the sublime came together in Lahore for a riveting finish as Peshawar Zalmi booked their place in the second qualifier and increased their chances of becoming back-to-back champions