Quetta Gladiators clinched a second win from two matches in the PSL 2024 by defeating scrappy defending champions Lahore Qalandars by five wickets.

Unheralded Khawaja Nafay showed plenty of confidence against the star-studded pace attack of Qalandars. Nafay defied the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf by hitting three sixes and four boundaries. He flicked Zaman Khan to the fine leg boundary for the winning runs to finish unbeaten on 60 off 31 balls.

Gladiators romped to 188 for 5 with five balls to spare after Qalandars’ 187 for 7. Qalandars lost a second successive home home after dropping three catches.

Qalandars opening batter Sahibzada Farhan, dropped on 44, made 62 off 43 balls but it was a breezy unbeaten 45 off 17 balls by Jahandad Khan, who was promoted at No. 5, which propelled them.

Jahandad claimed the momentum in the death overs by hitting four sixes and three boundaries. He upped the ante when he smacked Abrar Ahmed for three sixes in the leg-spinner’s last over which went for 23. Despite the onslaught, Akeal Hosein, opening the bowling for Gladiators, conceded only 17 and picked up two wickets in his four-over spell.

Gladiators made a brisk start to their chase thanks to Jason Roy (24 runs) and Saud Shakeel (40). Roy was dropped twice as they combined for 69, another scintillating opening stand after their century partnership against Zalmi.

Both batters fell in successive overs after dominating the powerplay. Zaman clean-bowled Shakeel with a yorker and Roy swiped wildly at spinner Raza’s short ball that hit the middle stump.

Qalandars’ part-time wicketkeeper Farhan had another lapse in the field when he dropped former Gladiators captain Sarfaraz Ahmed off the first ball he faced from Rauf.