Pakistan Super League's Anti-Corruption Head Warns of Life Ban

Pakistan Super League head Azam Khan said has warned players, team officials and franchise owners of life ban if found guilty of spot fixing or involvement in any other form of corruption during the tournament

Karachi: The head of Pakistan Super League's anti-corruption and security vigilance unit has warned players, team officials and franchise owners of life ban if found guilty of spot fixing or involvement in any other form of corruption during the tournament. (Pakistan Cricket Board Relying on Twenty20 Super League to Boost Revenue)

According to Colonel (retd) Azam Khan, Pakistan Cricket Board had learnt a lot from the corruption scandals that unfolded in other leagues in recent times.

"We learnt a lot from what happened in the IPL and Bangladesh Leagues and there anti-corruption and security models also helped us in finalising our model for the PS. We have put in a strong security, vigilance and anti-corruption plan into place," Azam said.

"We have made it clear to all franchises that players, officials or franchise owners found guilty of any wrong doing or undesirable activities will face a life ban.

"It is a big challenge for us to ensure the PSL is transparent and corruption free. We picked up a lot of things and put them into place from the models of other leagues."

Azam said their task was to ensure the image of Pakistan cricket didn't suffer in PSL.

"We also sought advice from the ICC anti-corruption and security unit in preparing our plan. We have issued sims of one cellular company to everyone in the league and we have round the clock security at the hotel where teams are staying," he added.

Azam said that players and officials had also been advised to avoid using social media networks during the course of the league.

Thisara Perera Makes History, Takes Hat-Trick Against India in Ranchi Twenty20

Thisara Perera had a memorable evening as he became the first Sri Lankan to take a hat-trick in the second Twenty20 International against India in Ranchi. This was also the fourth hat-trick by any bowler in Twenty20 International History

Thisara Perera stole the show in the second Twenty20 International against India by becoming the first Sri Lankan bowler to take a hat-trick in Twenty20 Internationals. He is now the fourth bowler to take a hat-trick in this format. (Scorecard | Highlights)

Bowling the 19th over, Perera, who had figures of 2-0-26-0 before the start of the over, was all over the place in his first three balls but struck gold in his fourth ball when he got rid of Hardik Pandya for 27, as he mistimed a full toss to long on. In the next ball, Suresh Raina attempted to paddle a low full toss but found Dushmantha Chameera at short fine leg.

On the final ball, Perera bowled another full toss and Yuvraj Singh only managed to hole out to long on as the Sri Lankan sealed a hat-trick.

Perera joined Brett Lee, Jacob Oram and Tim Southee are the other bowlers to have taken a hat-trick in the Twenty20 International format. Lee was the first to achieve the feat against Bangladesh in Cape Town during the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup. Jacob Oram did it at the Premadasa Stadium against Sri Lanka in 2009 while Tim Southee did it against Pakistan in Auckland in 2011.

Perera also has a hat-trick in ODIs, when he picked up 4/42 against Pakistan in Colombo in 2012.

Quetta Gladiators go top with big win

Quetta Gladiators 118 for 3 (Sarfraz 51*, Shehzad 41, Russell 3-18) beat Islamabad United117 (Watson 40, Elliott 3-25) by seven wickets 

After having been blown away by Umar Akmal's blitz on Monday night, Quetta Gladiators rebounded with a punishing win against Islamabad United, their fourth of the tournament, in Sharjah. Victory meant that Quetta took the top spot from Peshawar Zalmi, who had edged a thriller in the first match of the day. The Quetta bowlers vindicated Sarfraz Ahmed's decision to bowl by knocking over Islamabad for 117 in 19.1 overs. Sarfraz himself then led the chase with a typically busy fifty.

New Zealand allrounder Grant Elliott, who had cracked a fifty against Australia three days ago in Brendan McCullum's final ODI at Seddon Park, struck twice in two balls to set the match up for Quetta. Brad Haddin was first stumped by a canny back-of-the-hand slow roller, and then Sam Billings was trapped leg-before. Elliott's double-blow lifted Quetta, after a quick start from Shane Watson, who stood in as captain again; Misbah-ul-Haq was still injured.

The slide seeped into the lower order as well, with Imran Khalid's 18 being the second-best score, following Watson's 28-ball 40. The pitch had slowed down considerably, but Islamabad's shot selection was iffy. Each of Quetta's six bowlers punched his name into the wickets column, Elliott being the best with figures of 3 for 25.

Andre Russell, who had managed only 10 off 13 balls with the bat, engineered a double-strike of his own in the chase, and accounted for Quetta's top three. Sarfraz, however, built on opener Ahmed Shehzad's 41, and sealed the win with seven wickets and 23 balls to spare.

Sarfraz largely profited from sweeps and pulls during his unbeaten 51 off 39 balls, including six fours. Mohammad Nawaz, meanwhile, scratched his way to 14 not out off 21 balls, despite repeatedly getting beaten outside off by Saeed Ajmal.

Quetta thump Karachi to seal playoff spot

Quetta Gladiators 127 for 5 (Shehzad 41, Mir 2-27) beat Karachi Kings 126 for 9 (Malik 45, Elliott 4-15) by five wickets 

Grant Elliott picked up his second consecutive Man-of-the-Match award, helping Quetta Gladiators become the first team to seal a spot in PSL playoffs following their five-wicket win against Karachi Kings in Sharjah.

Elliott followed up his 3 for 25 against Islamabad United on Thursday with a career-best 4 for 15, carving through Karachi's top order and restricting the team to a below-par 126 for 9. Karachi's captain Shoaib Malik top-scored with 45, but nobody else made more than 23, as Elliott struck at regular intervals to thwart any momentum Karachi hoped of building. Anwar Ali, Zulfiqar Babar, Aizaz Cheema and Mohammad Nabi snared a scalp apiece, as Quetta were left needing just over six an over in their chase.

Ahmed Shehzad ensured Quetta aced the small chase without any major worry, as his 27-ball 41 guided the team home inside 19 overs. Karachi kept striking blows at various points, but did not have enough left to defend with, as handy knocks from Kevin Pietersen (26) and Sarfraz Ahmed (29) lifted Quetta to their fifth win of the season.

Pakistan Super League Will Find It Hard to Produce Players Like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma: Waqar Younis

Waqar Younis has stated that one should not expect the Pakistan Super League to churn out players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma.

Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis has cautioned his countrymen not to expect the Pakistan Super League to immediately churn out players of the class of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, like the Indian Premier League has done for the game. (Pakistan's World Cup Record Against India At the Back of Our Minds: Waqar Younis)

"I think we shouldn’t keep our expectations high from the PSL in its first year. It will take time say three to four years before we can expect this league to also give us the Virat Kohlis or Rohit Sharmas like the IPL did for India," he said on Saturday from Sydney.

Waqar said obviously expectations were high that the PSL would help Pakistan cricket produce some outstanding talent like the IPL had done for the Indian team.

"But we need to be patient and give it atleast three to four years before we can expect the PSL to mould our young talent into international material players," he said.

Waqar however made it clear that while he understood the desire of the franchises to field the sides they think are best for their requirements, he would like to see more players selected in the Pakistan squad play in the ongoing PSL.

"I don’t know what the cricket board can do because after all this is a commercial entity and franchises have their own businesses and requirements. But it would be good if the players picked in the squad for the Asia Cup and World T20 events are given chances to play in the PSL," the former Test captain said.

Waqar clearly didn’t sound too happy with the way some of the Pakistan selected players have not been given regular chances by their franchises.

"I am a bit surprised that Babar Azam is not playing in all matches and Muhammad Irfan is not being tested out fully,” he added.

Waqar was optimistic that the PSL in the next few years would fill a big void in Pakistan cricket and allow young players the opportunity to groom themselves and become top products.

The Pakistan coach was also candid when asked whether he was satisfied with the squad selected for the two coming events.

"I don’t know whether you have spoken to chief selector Haroon Rasheed but I think it is best you speak to him about this. I was consulted by the selectors but it is their final decision on the squad," he stated.

12TH MATCH REPORT: LAHORE QALANDARS VS KARACHI KINGS

Bopara seals victory for Karachi single handedly with the performance of the tournament!

It was time for the big city derby in what was an important match with both teams sitting at the bottom of the table. The stadium was buzzing with excitement as the crowd poured in huge numbers. Dwayne Bravo was the stand in captain for Qalandars as Azhar Ali was rested, while the Kings were without the injured Mohammad Amir. Qalandars won the toss and elected to bowl first, with Nauman Anwar and Shoaib Malik opening the innings for Kings in what was a surprising move. There was drama in the very first over, with Kevin Cooper dropping an easy catch in the deep which would have sent Nauman back to the pavilion. His luck continued as he was dropped once again by Bravo a few overs later and made them pay with some big shots. Malik also got into his stride as Qalandars kept dropping opportunities at regular intervals. Nauman raced to 35 off 25 deliveries before Zohaib Khan dismissed him as he lofted one in the air and was caught at long on by Umar Akmal, who made no mistake that time. James Vince was next, but he fell cheaply as he played one off Zohaib straight to Bravo. Qalandars were finally beginning to hold on to their catches while Malik kept himself busy on the crease at kept scoring at a steady rate. With ten overs gone Karachi managed 73/2, and set themselves nicely for a decent total.

The dangerous Ravi Bopara joined his captain in the middle on the back of an incredible performance against Peshawar Zalmi. Lahore finally stepped up their game and tightened the screws a little, making it difficult for the batsmen to score freely. Malik was dismissed in the 13th over by Zafar Gohar after scoring 27 from 25 balls. Shakib Al Hasan and Imad Wasim could not stay on the crease for long, as Bopara took the responsibility of ensuring Karachi finished the innings strongly. He took his time to settle in but as soon as that happened, there was no stopping him. Once again, he played a brilliant innings and increased the run rate as he kept hitting boundaries one after the other. Cameron Delport and Chris Gayle added dropped a few more catches as Qalandars were made to suffer due to their lackluster effort in the field. Bopara smashed Bravo for 20 runs in the 19th over, and remained not out for a monumental 71 from 43 deliveries, becoming the highest scorer of the tournament in the process. Karachi finished their innings strongly and got to 178/5 in their 20 overs.

Lahore Qalandars needed almost 9 runs an over as Chris Gayle made his much awaited return to the league in front of a full house at Sharjah after sitting out in the last two games. He was joined by Cameron Delport and both batsmen got off to a decent start, taking no risks in the beginning and concentrated mainly on rotating the strike. Gayle hit Malik for a six straight down the ground in the fifth over as Qalandars began to pick up the pace. Delport also looked good with some beautiful stroke play on the other end. Sohail Tanvir was whacked away for three boundaries in the eigth over as the openers began to dominate proceedings. Both openers began to free their arms once they were set and began hitting the ball cleanly, with Lahore racing to 90/0 in their first ten overs. Delport was particularly impressive with his feet movement against the spinners. He was dismissed after a stellar 55 from 39 balls by Usama Mir as he charged down the ground and was stumped by Mushfiqur Rahim. Karachi Kings took a strategic timeout soon after Delport’s dismissal. The timeout worked wonders for Karachi as Bopara, who has not put a foot wrong in the tournament turned the game around instantly, this time with the ball.

He took out the dangerous Chris Gayle on his very first delivery as he mistimed his shot and sent it into the air for an easy catch. Bopara dismissed Qalandars’ stand in captain Bravo two deliveries later, and suddenly the Kings’ fans began to make some noise. Lahore looked to rebuild through Umar Akmal and Muhammad Rizwan and focused on taking the heat out of the situation with some steady batting. Their partnership was short lived as Bopara bowled an exceptional 16th over. His first victim was Rizwan who was bowled out, next up was Hammad Azam who was unlucky to be given out leg before, and one delivery later Naved Yasin perished in the same over as he was caught at short cover as Bopara was on fire! He took three wickets in four balls, picking up the first five wicket haul of the tournament. He dismissed Umar Akmal next, and also became the highest wicket taker of the league as he ended up with sensational bowling figures of 4-0-16-6. The match was over after his spell, as Karachi sealed a comfortable victory by 27 runs in the end. Bopara’s all round performance in this match was mind blowing as his dream run in the HBL PSL continues.

11TH MATCH REPORT: ISLAMABAD UNITED VS QUETTA GLADIATORS

Quetta dominate Islamabad once again as they move to the top of the table

Islamabad United were back in action after a dominant performance against Lahore Qalandars from the day before. Gladiators won the toss and chose to field, as Sharjeel Khan and Shane Watson came to open the innings for United, fresh from a record breaking partnership in the HBL PSL. Their partnership would end earlier this time around though, as Zulfiqar Babar took Sharjeel with a juicy full toss which went unpunished and landed safely in Akbar Ur Rehman’s hands in the fourth over. Watson got off to a flying start and it seemed he never left the pitch from the night before! He took on Muhammad Nawaz and smashed him for consecutive sixes, and in no time had taken Islamabad United to 39/1 after five overs. Brad Haddin whacked a glorious six from the first ball he faced in the tournament and United were off to a promising start. However, things took a dramatic turn for Islamabad once Watson was dismissed off Aizaz Cheema in the seventh over after scoring 40 from 28 balls. Gladiators halted proceedings through some brilliant bowling.

Grant Elliot made his debut for the Gladiators in the HBL PSL and wasted little time in making his mark. He bowled a clever slower ball and deceived Haddin, who was stumped by Sarfraz behind the stumps. He got Billings on his very next delivery, as Islamabad’s batsmen began to lose control of the innings. After the end of their first ten overs, United were 66/4. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals as Gladiators started bossing the match. Khalid Latif was next to fall off Mohammad Nabi as he was caught leg before. Hawkeye revealed that the ball would have missed the stumps. Nawaz picked up Imran Khalid next, just as he was beginning to score some runs. Andre Russell was also sent packing cheaply as Islamabad failed to get a single partnership going and their tail collapsed dramatically. Elliot ended up with 3 wickets as Islamabad were bowled all out for 117 runs in 19.1 overs. Gladiators must have felt pretty confident going in to the break.

Luke Wright and Ahmad Shehzad opened the innings for the Gladiators. They needed to keep wickets intact but Andre Russell had different ideas and bowled a phenomenal third over of the innings. Wright was caught by Sam Billings on the off side, before Russell bowled a superb yorker on the very next delivery to bowl out Kevin Pietersen for a golden duck! It seemed as if we had a match on our hands but Shehzad kept scoring runs steadily on the other end with some beautiful strokes. Quetta’s skipper Sarfraz Ahmed kept rotating the strike and started to build a partnership with Shehzad. Both batsmen put on an important partnership, adding 59 runs from 43 balls for the 3rd wicket before Shehzad became Russell’s third victim as he was caught in the deep by Sharjeel. Shehzad scored a confident

Quetta Gladiators were firmly in control of the match when Nawaz came out to bat. Sarfraz kept the scoreboard ticking knowing that his team did not need to do anything fancy. Ajmal tried to contain runs but wickets were hard to come by for United. The Gladiators cruised to their target in the 17th over, as Sarfraz led from the front and remained unbeaten at 51 from 39 deliveries, capping off another comprehensive victory by seven wickets. Grant Elliott was awarded the man of the match for his wonderful bowling performance. With this win, the Gladiators move to the top of the table once again as they continue to dominate in the HBL PSL.