Kevin Pietersen's 34-ball 48 helped Quetta Gladiators register their second win of the season as they beat Islamabad United by six wickets with 17 balls remaining in Sharjah. Needing 135 to win, Asad Shafiq and Shane Watson provided Quetta Gladiators with a steady start before the latter began the acceleration in the fourth over, pulling Steven Finn for a six out of the ground and following up with a boundary straight down the ground. However, the assault didn't last long as he hit the third delivery straight to Rumman Raees at mid on to end his enterprising innings on 13.
Gladiators suffered a bit of a stutter thereafter, losing two more wickets in the following two overs - Umar Amin and Asad Shafiq. Reduced to 48 for 3, Pietersen and Mohammad Nawaz were left with the responsibility of steadying the chase. They did so with a steady flow of runs. While the English batsman went after the bowlers, Nawaz played the anchor role. They combined to add 70 runs in only 56 balls, before Finn managed to end Pietersen's innings. However, by the time he was dismissed, Gladiators were left with only needing 17 runs with 28 balls in hand.
