IUvQG: Umar Akmal opens up on his impactful eight-ball 23

The cricket fans in Pakistan were glued to their TV sets while fans at the Gaddafi Stadium experienced a high-octane clash between Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) season seven.

For the second consecutive time, Sarfaraz Ahmed led Gladiators chased down 200. One of the exciting news in yesterday's match was the comeback of Umar Akmal, who after three years was playing an HBL PSL match.

Thanks to all my fans who supported and prayed for me.@TeamQuetta 🤲

— Umar Akmal (@Umar96Akmal) February 12, 2022

His role was vital for Gladiators in chasing a 200-run target as he reminded fans of his past where he used to take away games from the opposition.

He came at the crease in the 16th over with 61 runs required off the last 27 balls. Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed was holding one end but the boundaries were not coming.

On the second ball of his innings, he smacked a six over the deep midwicket boundary off Mohammad Wasim Jr. This also allowed Sarfaraz to take the game deep with Umar supporting him brilliantly. 

In the 18th over, bowled by Hasan Ali, the dup managed 17 runs with both hitting one six each. Umar smoked one to Wasim over wide long-on and the balls/run ratio was near to equal at that stage. He scored 8-ball 23 at a strike rate of 287.5 while Sarfaraz remained not-out on 32-ball 50 and guide Gladiators to five-wicket win two balls to spare.

The local boy enjoyed his time in the middle and thanked Gladiators' management for providing him with the opportunity to showcase his skillset.

Here's what he said after the match:

"Sir Viv [Richards] gave me confidence while Shahid [Afridi] Bhai supported me as always," Umar said in a video sent by Gladiators.

"Gully Bhai [Umar Gul] gave me a reminder that you have won matches for Pakistan many times from this position and I took this belief in the middle and eventually Gladiators came on top," he added.

"I executed the role which was given to me from the coaching staff and we ended up chasing the 200-run target," he concluded.