The Islamabad franchise romped home to victory by nine wickets against the Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League fixture on January 30. The iconic ‘Helicopter shot’ popularised by former India captain MS Dhoni has been replicated by Afghan batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
In what was a dominant victory, Gurbaz dispatched a Sohail Khan delivery in the 15th over, clearing the deep mid-wicket boundary with ease, as his shot reminded everyone of Dhoni’s signature stroke, which became popular as the “Helicopter shot” over the years. Fans across the world admired Gurbaz’ brilliant six, which went viral on social media.
The Ahmedabad United side posted a crushing victory of the Peshawar Zalmi, as they secured an important victory by nine wickets in the fifth match of the ongoing season. The Peshawar side batted first and put up 168/6 on the scoreboard, thanks to a superb knock of 70 in just 46 deliveries courtesy of the West Indian all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford.
The former Mumbai Indians man blasted seven boundaries and three sixes, as he and Ben Cutting, who also scored a valuable 16, took the Zalmi to a score of 168/6 in their 20 overs.
The two all-rounders saved the Zalmi innings which was looking destined for a collapse following a comprehensive failure of the top-order, with Faheem Ashraf and Hasan Ali picking up two wickets each.
In reply, it never for a moment looked like Islamabad United were on the backfoot, as openers Alex Hales and Paul Stirling got them off to a fantastic start, building an extraordinary partnership of 112 in just 9.4 overs.
They took the game away from ZS, and more or less ended the match as competition before the halfway mark of their innings. As a result, Stirling’s dismissal following a mix-up did not prove costly at all. Hales and Rahmanullah Gurbaz continued the onslaught as the two wrapped up the game with 25 balls left, with Islamabad registering a convincing victory by nine wickets.
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Gurbaz will be featuring in the IPL mega auction scheduled for February 12-13, and it will be an interesting dilemma for the teams, as he clearly possesses the quality as he demonstrated during the T20 World Cup in 2021.
Islamabad United’s next game will be against the Multan Sultans at the National Stadium in Karachi on February 1.
