Russell emerges as hero in first-ever PSL super over

Islamabad required 8 off the last two balls in the super over when Andre Russell sealed the match with a fortuitous four and then a stunning six over long on off Bangladesh speedster Mustafizur Rahman

It required a four and a six for Islamabad United off the last two balls of the first ever super over in the history of Pakistan Super League to clinch a thriller against Lahore Qalandars at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday.

Islamabad required 8 off the last two balls in the super over when Andre Russell sealed the match with a fortuitous four and then a stunning six over long on off Bangladesh speedster Mustafizur Rahman.

Match tied, Islamabad United win the Super Over!
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Astonishingly that was not the only time Islamabad had got managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Led by Mohammad Sami, Islamabad miraculously dragged Lahore to a super over on a relatively easy chase. They were coasting at 77 for two with Agha Salman and Brendon McCullum going full throttle, when the Salman fell prey to a Sami bouncer after a well-made 48. The Veteran seamer then backed that up with another snorter to send back Dinesh Ramdin for 4 and the slide begun.

Standing like a spectator at the other end, McCullum lost his touch and struggled to rotate the strike as Islamabad bowlers continued to pick up wickets on regular intervals.

Andre Russell, Shadab Khan, all chipped in with Sami as Lahore went from 77 for 2 to 114 for 8 in a span of 7 overs.

The telling blow however came in the form McCullum when he fell run out for 34 off 49, with Lahore requiring 7 off 4 balls. Salman Irshad then raised hopes of a victory with stunning first ball six but amazingly got out the very next ball when they just 1 to reach home.

OUT! 19.4 Mohammad Sami to Salman Irshad
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Apart from Sami (3/21), left-arm spinner Samit Patel also picked up a three wicket-haul for Islamabad.

Earlier, Yasir Shah (3/20) and Sohail Khan (2/23) terrific bowling performance restricted Islamabad to 121 for 9