Sami stars in Islamabad's sensational win

Mohammad Sami turned the game around when Lahore Qalandars were cruising in the chase © Getty

Just a day after Darren Sammy's heroics, yet another Pakistan Super League clash went down to the wire, this time with another West Indian - Andre Russell - shining bright. With the match having gone to the last ball of the one-over eliminator, Russell hit Mustafizur Rahman for a six over long-on to seal the deal for Islamabad United and contributed in Lahore Qalandars' winless run this season.

Earlier in the day, Lahore Qalandars won the toss and elected to field. On a wicket which had turned slow due to regular spells of rain on Friday (March 2), Islamabad United struggled to get going. The top order not only failed to keep the runs flowing but also kept losing wickets at regular intervals. JP Duminy, who looked out of sorts in the previous game, was the only top order batsman who managed to score crucial runs and at a steady rate.

By the ninth over, they were reduced to 29 for 3 before Duminy forged a couple of crucial partnerships. In company of Samit Patel and Asif Ali, he managed to give Islamabad's innings a much-needed life, but it was far from what they had needed. A restrictive spell from Sunil Narine in the middle over to go with Yasir Shah's triple strike had further reduced them to 70 for 6 and left them reeling in the innings.

It was eventually Hussain Talat's late blitz, including two sixes and a boundary, which propelled Islamabad to 121 for 9. While his unbeaten 21-ball 33 remained the key for Islamabad posting a fighting total, but Duminy's 36-ball 34 remained as critical.

Chasing the low target, Lahore were in trouble early with Umar Akmal and Fakhar Zaman falling in the first over - both trapped legbefore by Samit Patel. However, contrasting innings by Brendon McCullum and Agha Salman had put Lahore in a strong position. The duo put on a 73-run stand in only 63 balls to put the side in complete command. However, a superb spell by Mohammad Sami in the middle overs completely changed the complexion of the game.

Once the partnership was broken, there was no arrest to the slide of the batting order. Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf and Andre Russell chipped in with a wicket each. In a space of 50 balls, Lahore lost their last eight wickets for only 44 runs.

Drama unfolded in the last over as well. McCullum, who had carried his bat till the last over, got run out of the second ball leaving the needing seven off three deliveries with only one wicket in hand. Salman Irshaad began with a six to equal the score but perished the very next delivery to take the game to an eliminator.

Brendon McCullum, Fakhar Zaman and Umar Akmal combined to finish with 15 runs off Mohammad Sami. Mustafizur, who bowled the over for Qalandars, began better, conceding only eight of the first four deliveries. However, a wide, a boundary and a last-ball six proved good enough to take Islamabad to a sensational victory.

Brief Scores: Islamabad United 121/9 in 20 overs (JP Duminy 34, Hussain Talat 33*; Yasir Shah 3-20, Sohail Khan 2-23) beat Lahore Qalandars 121 in 19.4 overs (Agha Salman 48, Brendon McCullum 34; Samit Patel 3-17, Mohammad Sami 3-21) via eliminator