KARACHI: Islamabad United’s spinners exploited a sluggish pitch to perfection before Devon Conway and Mohammad Faiq guided their side to a comfortable nine-wicket victory over Lahore Qalandars in their HBL Pakistan Super League clash in a hot afternoon here at the National Bank Stadium on Thursday.
On a sticky surface that demanded patience rather than power, United adapted far better than their opponents, restricting Lahore to a scanty 100 — the lowest total recorded at the venue in the PSL history — before completing the chase with clinical ease.
Australian off-spinner Chris Green led the effort with a disciplined spell of 3-19, supported effectively by Imad Wasim and captain Shadab Khan as Lahore’s batting repeatedly faltered against spin on a surface offering grip and variable pace.
“I thought it was a great wicket for a day game,” Green said afterwards. “The square was quite dry and, to be honest, it was a complete bowling performance.”
Lahore never recovered after a cautious start. The slow track blunted their batters’ attacking strokes forcing them to commit mistakes as they crawled to 34-2 in powerplay.
Imad in the opening over removed Mohammad Naeem (nought) before the left-arm spinner sent Abdullah Shafique (10) back as the batter picked out a diving Shadab at mid-off in the fifth over.
Green bowled Haseebullah Khan (19 off 22 balls) in the eighth over with a delivery that held its line, while Rubin Hermann (four) holed out off Shadab in the ninth as Qalandars slipped to 50-4 at the halfway mark.
Asif Ali briefly threatened to launch a counterattack, striking Faheem Ashraf for a six in the 12th over, but fell soon after attempting another big hit, handing Shadab his second wicket.
Green then produced a standout moment in the field, diving sharply to his right to complete a return catch and dismiss debutant Ryan Burl (two) in the 14th.
Sikandar Raza attempted to rebuild with a measured knock, striking boundaries through placement rather than power, but scoring remained laborious.
The Zimbabwean all-rounder eventually departed for 25 off 19 balls in the 16th over, sweeping Green straight to short fine leg as the Qalandars’ hopes, who were now 91-7, of a late recovery faded.
Richard Gleeson cleaned up the tail efficiently, bowling Haris Rauf with a slower full toss before uprooting Ubaid Shah’s stumps with a pinpoint Yorker. Faheem Ashraf dismissed captain Shaheen Shah Afridi (nine) to end the innings in the penultimate over.
“Batting on this wicket wasn’t as difficult as the scoreboard reflected,” Raza said after the match. “Nowadays T20 cricket is becoming more about slogging than the demonstration of batsmanship.
“I told the boys in the dressing room that we need to focus on batsmanship rather than slogging if we want to be successful in Karachi.”
Islamabad, in contrast, approached the chase with clarity and composure.
Although Sameer Minhas fell early to Shaheen, United maintained control through Conway and Faiq, whose partnership blended calculated aggression with intelligent strike rotation.
Conway settled quickly, flicking Shaheen for a four before lifting Ubaid over the infield for six. Faiq complimented him with elegant strokeplay, driving through the covers and consistently finding gaps.
United surged to 51-1 in powerplay, effectively placing the result beyond doubt. Conway struck consecutive boundaries off Shaheen while Faiq matched the momentum against Haris as Qalandars’ bowlers struggled to replicate the control shown by United’s spinners earlier.
With only 50 runs required from 84 deliveries at one stage, the chase became a formality.
Conway continued to dominate, employing sweeps and straight drives before launching Mustafizur Rehman down the ground. Two sixes and a boundary brought the scores level by the halfway stage of the innings.
Faiq then completed the job, finishing unbeaten on 34 off 19 balls with the aid of six fours, while Conway remained not out on a fluent 59 off 35 deliveries, striking seven fours and three sixes in an innings that combined authority with adaptability.
“It was great to get Devon some good time in the middle,” Green said. “It was the first time Sameer missed out, so he is human after all. He has really impressed me, and Faiq was brilliant as well.”
The victory marked United’s third win in five matches, lifting them to second place on the table in the eight-team league.
SCOREBOARD
LAHORE QALANDARS:
Haseebullah Khan b Green 19
Mohammad Naeem c Sameer b Imad 0
Abdullah Shafique c Shadab b Imad 10
Rubin Hermann c Sameer b Shadab 4
Sikandar Raza c Salman b Green 25
Asif Ali c Faiq b Shadab 15
Ryan Burl c&b Green 2
Shaheen Shah Afridi c Conway b Faheem 9
Haris Rauf b Gleeson 2
Ubaid Shah b Gleeson 1
Mustafizur Rahman not out 0
EXTRAS (B-2, LB-6, NB-1, W-4) 13
TOTAL (all out, 18.3 overs) 100
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-1 (Naeem), 2-27 (Abdullah), 3-41 (Haseebullah), 4-41 (Hermann), 5-72 (Asif), 6-76 (Burl), 7-91 (Raza), 8-96 (Haris), 9-99 (Ubaid)
BOWLING: Imad 4-0-13-2, Gleeson 3-0-13-2 (3w, 1nb), Faheem 2.3-0-21-1 (1w), Green 4-0-19-3, Shadab 4-0-18-2, Salman 1-0-8-0
ISLAMABAD UNITED:
Devon Conway not out 59
Sameer Minhas c Ubaid b Shaheen 5
Mohammad Faiq not out 34
EXTRAS (LB-5, W-1) 6
TOTAL (for one wicket, 10.2 overs) 104
DID NOT BAT: Haider Ali, Mark Chapman, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Imad Wasim, Richard Gleeson, Salman Irshad, Chris Green
FALL OF WICKET: 1-11 (Sameer)
BOWLING: Shaheen 3-0-22-1, Ubaid 2-0-14-0, Haris 1-0-10-0 (1w), Mustafizur 2-0-16-0, Raza 2-0-33-0, Burl 0.2-0-4-0
RESULT: Islamabad United won by nine wickets.
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Chris Green
Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2026
