Lamichhane inflicts gloom on Gladiators

Dubai - De Villiers scored an unbeaten 47 from 38 deliveries with seven boundaries.

The overcast clouds hung over the 'Ring of Fire' and Nepal's exciting young leg spinner Sandeep Lamichhane gave the Quetta Gladiators enough gloom, his career-best bowling figures handing the Lahore Qalandars a commanding win in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Wednesday night.
The 18-year-old leg spinner spun a web around the Gladiators with 4-10 from his four overs as the Qalandars won a low-scoring game by eight wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
His returns as well as rookie pacer Haris Rauf's 2-23 saw Sarfraz Ahmed's men fold up at 106 in 19.1 overs and the Qalandars wiped it off with 21 deliveries to spare.
AB de Villiers scored an unbeaten 47 from 38 deliveries with seven boundaries and Haris Sohail made an unbeaten 33 from 42 balls with three boundaries to steer them home.
It was the third victory for the Qalandars in six matches while the Gladiators suffered their second consecutive loss after they had gone down to the Karachi Kings previously, in Sharjah.
Lamichhane, who had taken 3-46 against the Multan Sultans at Sharjah, came up with a stellar performance, accounting for opener Shane Watson, Rilee Rossouw, Umar Akmal and Danish Aziz.
He swelled his tally to eight wickets for 76 runs in three matches.
Lamichhane's previous best in the format was 3-11 and his previous best in T20 Internationals was 2-19. His best figures in ODIs read 4-24.
"It was a much needed win for us," said Lamichhane, who was adjudged the Man-of-the-Match.
"Thankfully, I performed well. I got those early wickets, three wickets in the powerplay and one later. And it worked out good for us. The experience of playing in Sharjah helped and coming to Dubai, where you have longer boundaries, it gives you more confidence," he added.
Meanwhile, the Gladiators' 106 was the second lowest total in this edition, batting first.
The only batsmen to show a semblance of resistance were opener Ahsan Ali and Sarfraz Ahmed.
Ahsan Ali made a 25-ball 33 with three boundaries and two sixes, while the Quetta captain Sarfraz scored 29 from 27 deliveries with a lone boundary.
Rauf, apart from taking two wickets, having Mohammad Nawaz caught by AB and then sent Fawad Ahmed's stumps cartwheeling, also effected a run out to dismiss debutant Mohammad Hasnain.
Sarfraz said that the batting implosion cost them.
"We were 43-1 but after we lost so many wickets, it was tough to fight back from that position. Lamichhane bowled really well. He has done well over the past two years and he has got a lot of variety," said Sarfraz.
"In this format, it is the top four who make play which allows the middle and lower order to capitalise. But it didn't work for us tonight. But I believe we can bounce back from this," he added.
james@khaleejtimes.com
 

Brief scores: Quetta Gladiators: 106 all out in 19.1 overs (Ahsan Ali 33, Sarfraz Ahmed 29, Sandeep Lamichhane 4-10, Haris Rauf 2-23) lost to Lahore Qalandars: 107-2 in 16.3 overs (AB de Villiers 47 not out, Haris Sohail 33, Gauhar Ali 21) by 8 wickets. Man of the Match: Sandeep Lamichhane (Lahore Qalandars)