Azam Khan stars as Quetta Gladiators lose again

The Islamabad United wicketkeeper smashed 97 in quickfire time as Gladiators lost for a fourth time in five games

Karachi: Islamabad United 220-6, Quetta Gladiators 157 - Islamabad United win by 63 runs

Quetta Gladiators' desperate Pakistan Super League season continued to follow a similar pattern as they were well beaten by a sparkling assault from Azam Khan.

They finished 63 runs short of Islamabad United after wicketkeeper Khan, who only came to the crease with his side 43 for 3 in the seventh over of the innings, whacked eight sixes in a remarkable 97 off just 42 deliveries.

He also hit nine fours in a knock that took the game away from Quetta, who have won just one of their five games so far in this disappointing campaign.

Khan had seen Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rassie van der Dussen and Shadab Khan perish cheaply before he launched his counterattack, which saw both Mohammad Hasnain and Aimal Khan finish with unflattering figures of 2 for 52 and 1 for 55 from their respective four-over allocations.

Asif Ali (42) also contributed four sixes in a 24-ball cameo as Islamabad racked up a mammoth total of 220 for 6.

^{Mohammad Hafeez fought gamely for Quetta (Asif Hassan/AFP via Getty Images)}

By the end of the second over of Gladiators' reply, they had lost overseas batters Jason Roy and Martin Guptill – the latter to the first ball he faced – as their attempt to reel in that target went up in smoke.

Will Smeed, belatedly given his first appearance of the tournament, delivered a promising cameo, hammering 17 off 11 balls, but when he was Abrar Ahmed's second victim – Roy had already been trapped in front by the Pakistan leg-spinner – Quetta were 26 for 3 in the fourth over.

Mohammad Hafeez launched a counter of his own, but he holed out for 48, slapping a wide full toss from Fazalhaq Farooqi down the throat of deep cover, before Sarfraz Ahmed was lbw to Shadab.

Iftikhar Ahmed (39) kept going, hitting two sixes and finding the boundary three times, but the game had been up for some time by the time he holed out as Quetta's tail crumbled around him.

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