West Indies Twenty20 star Akeal Hosein produced a gutsy all-round effort but it went in vain as his Quetta Gladiators was defeated by 39 runs to Islamabad United in the first eliminator of the Pakistan Super League at the National Stadium.
Grabbing two for 34 from four overs to help restrict Islamabad to 174 for nine from their 20 overs, after they choose to bat first.
Hosein then smashed 31 of 18 deliveries as Gladiators slumped to 135 all out in the 19th over. Seamer McCoy produced one for 13 from three overs. While the defeat ended Gladiators journey in the competition, Islamabad will have another chance at the final when they take on Daren Sammy’s Peshawar Zalmi in the second eliminator round.
New Zealander Martin Guptill led Islamabad top-scoring with 56 off 47 balls lashing five fours and a six, as he put on 51 for the first wicket with Alex Hales on 23 and a further 51 for the second wicket with Agha Salman on 31.
Despite Hosein making key strikes, as Islamabad lost seven wickets for 56 runs to decline at the end of the innings.
In reply, Gladiators had their top order wrecked by spinner Imad Wasim with a magnificent 3 for 12 as they crashed to 16 for 5 in the fifth over.
Hosein arrived to blast two fours and three sixes and produced a 52-run sixth wicket partnership with Omair Yousuf, who top-scored with exactly 50 off 37 balls.
Hosein was tragically run out at the beginning of the 11th over and Omair added 41 for the eighth wicket with Mohammad Amir on 23, but it was not enough to restore the run chase.
