Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed starred as Quetta Gladiators defeated Lahore Qalandars by three wickets, after a mouth-watering clash in Sharjah.

While chasing a target of 144 runs, Sarfaraz led his team from the front by staying out in the middle till the end, as he took his team over the line with a six on the last ball of the innings. He remained unbeaten on 52 runs off 36 balls, with the help of four boundaries and a six.

At one stage it seemed that the Qalandars would run away with the show, as Gladiators were reduced to 81-5 in the 13th over of the innings. But at this stage Sarfaraz, along with Mohammad Nawaz, formed an important partnership of 54 runs to keep their side ahead.

Opener Ahsan Ali was the other notable performer for Gladiators with the bat as he scored 40 runs off 29 balls.

All-rounder Mohammad Nawaz chipped in with an important contribution of 19 runs.

For Qalandars, young pace sensation Haris Rauf was the pick of the bowlers once again as he claimed two wickets for 25 runs.

Earlier Qalandars posted 143-7 in their allotted 20 overs, after Gladiators won the toss and elected to field first.

Captain AB de Villiers top-scored with an unbeaten 45 runs off 40 balls, while opener Sohail Akhtar and last match’s hero David Wiese scored 29 and 20 runs respectively.

For Gladiators, young left-arm pacer Ghulam Mudassar was the top-performer with the ball. He conceded just 21 runs in his four overs and picked up three important scalps, which included the wickets of Sohail Akhtar and Salman Butt.

For his match-winning innings, Sarfaraz bagged the award for the player of the match.

The Gladiators will play their next match of the tournament against Karachi Kings on Sunday, February 24, at the same venue.