Shadab and Salman specials down Lahore Qalandars on opening night

An unbeaten 138-run partnership between Shadab Khan and Agha Salman helped Islamabad United secure a statement win over defending champions Lahore Qalandars on the opening night of PSL 2024. Electing to field, against the historical data, United made short work of the steep target of 196, getting there with 10 balls to spare.

They were helped by a sloppy fielding performance from Qalandars, who put Shadab down twice and missed several run-out opportunities. But ultimately, no Qalandars bowler found a way of restricting United's runs. From the very outset, Alex Hales set the tone with a breezy cameo, and when Salman Fayyaz got rid of him with a sharp return catch, it was the last success Qalandars would enjoy.

What followed was Shadab at his very best with the bat, timing and placing both pace and spin to perfection. He would finish with an unbeaten 74 off 41, ably supported by an even more explosive knock by Salman, who ended the contest with an undefeated 64 off 31. It was perhaps appropriate that the game ended with the United captain tonking Fayyaz straight over his head for a huge six, one that also brought up United's 200.

Once the PSL got underway following a flashy opening ceremony, Qalandars looked to have made a bright start, too. Sahibzada Farhan took just 29 balls to bring up his half-century, but the nature of scoring for Qalandars wasn't as uniform. Fakhar Zaman struggled at the other end before Shadab removed him off the first ball he faced off the spinner. It was to be the start of a very productive day for Shadab, while Qalandars spent several overs trying to regain their momentum. When Farhan top-edged off Tymal Mills, the slowdown became even more pronounced, and United assumed the ascendancy.

It required the ability of Rassie van der Dussen to get the ship back on trick, with a brilliant late-overs knock. His unbeaten 41-ball 71 tried to make up for the time Qalandars had lost through the middle overs, and a few fireworks from David Wiese lower down helped bring the two-time defending champions close to 200. However, with United in the kind of mood they were in, it wasn't nearly enough in the end.