LAHORE: Opening batters Jason Roy and Saud Shakeel shared a beefy 157-run stand as a reshuffled Quetta Gladiators made a triumphant start in the Pakistan Super League with a 16-run win over Peshawar Zalmi on Sunday.
Roy scored a breezy 75 off 48 balls and lefthander Shakeel, who waited for 33 games to get his first opportunity in the PSL, made an equally fine 74 off 47 deliveries that lifted Quetta to 206-5.
Babar Azam (68) and Saim Ayub (42) provided Peshawar with a brisk start of 90 off 51 balls before Peshawar’s chase got wobbled in the latter part of the innings and was eventually held to 190-6.
Quetta’s new captain Rilee Rossouw of South Africa was one of the major changes Quetta had made this season. It relieved its long-time skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed after failing to qualify for the playoffs for four successive seasons.
Quetta has also brought in the Australian duo of Shane Watson as its head coach and Shaun Tait as bowling coach while also picking Mohammad Amir in the draft for the first time after the left-arm pace bowler played the last eight seasons for Karachi Kings.
Amir (1-29) bowled brilliantly upfront and was duly rewarded with the late wicket of Rovman Powell in his last over.
Roy and Shakeel capitalized on Peshawar’s wayward pace bowling with fast bowler Aamer Jamal spraying the white-ball all over and Pakistan under-19 player, Mohammad Zeeshan, failing to hit the right lengths during the powerplay.
Jamal was taken off after going for 29 runs off his two overs, but Peshawar missed a specialist spinner in the middle overs to contain Quetta’s free-scoring openers.
Captain Babar’s decision to try out the offspin of Ayub also didn’t work out well as Shakeel smashed him for three straight sixes in one over and raised a strong opening stand with Roy off 92 balls.
Peshawar hit back briefly at the death through Salman Irshad (3-38) after Englishman Luke Wood broke the tall opening stand when Shakeel holed out to Babar. Roy was splendidly caught low at midwicket when he couldn’t clear Irshad’s low full toss as Quetta lost four wickets for 34 runs.
The needless run-out of Ayub in the ninth over got Peshawar off the hook and legspinner Abrar Ahmed (2-29) picked up the key wickets of Babar and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (18) in one over to seal the game for Quetta.
Jason Roy and Saud Shakeel star in Quetta’s 16-run win over Peshawar in PSL
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Jason Roy and Saud Shakeel star in Quetta’s 16-run win over Peshawar in PSL
- Gladiators made a triumphant start in the Pakistan Super League
Ravaglia heroics lead Bologna to Italian Super Cup final in Riyadh
- Despite falling behind early, Bologna equalized in the 34th minute before prevailing on penalties
RIYADH: It was a night of shared football culture in Riyadh as Inter Milan and Bologna met in the second 2025/26 Italian Super Cup semi-final. The travelling Inter support brought their drums, colour and constant noise, blending with Saudi Inter fans to create a lively atmosphere inside the stadium.
The match began at a blistering pace, with Inter taking the lead less than two minutes after kick-off. Marcus Thuram powered home from close range after meeting an accurate cross from Alessandro Bastoni to score the opening goal of the night.
Inter immediately searched for a second, with Ange-Yoan Bonny going close in the fourth minute, feinting past Torbjorn Heggem before dragging his effort just wide of the post.
After Inter’s early barrage, Bologna began to grow into the contest, with Jens Odgaard leading much of the offence. Goalkeeper Josep Martinez was called into action to preserve Inter’s advantage.
The energy among Inter supporters continued to build, with fans jumping in unison and lifting their scarves as they urged their side forward in search of a second goal.
That momentum was checked in the 34th minute, when a VAR review resulted in a penalty for Bologna. Riccardo Orsolini slotted the spot-kick coolly past Martinez to bring I Rossoblu back level.
Inter pushed forward after the break as the game opened up, but there was no getting past Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia, who made four saves in the second half alone.
Hope briefly returned for the Nerazzurri when Bonny was brought down in the box in the 56th minute, only for the initial appeal for a penalty to be overturned following consultation with VAR.
Less than 10 minutes later, the stadium rose to welcome Lautaro Martinez. Brought on alongside Andy Diouf and Davide Frattesi in a triple substitution, Lautaro made an immediate impact but was unable to find the decisive goal before the end of regular time.
Bologna came within moments of snatching a winner in injury time, but goalkeeper Martinez reacted sharply to make a crucial save, sending the semi-final into a penalty shootout.
The shootout began evenly, with both sides converting their penalties before goalkeepers intervened at either end. Nicolo Barella then fired over the crossbar, only for Juan Miranda to mirror the miss moments later.
Inter’s struggles from the spot continued as Ravaglia made his second save of the shootout, before Jonathan Rowe gave Bologna the advantage. Stefan de Vrij converted to extend the contest, but Ciro Immobile struck decisively to send Bologna through.
The Rossoblu will now face Napoli in the Italian Super Cup final at Al-Awwal Park on December 22, after the Serie A champions defeated AC Milan 2-0 in the first semi-final.
