Rishad’s Rawalpindi remain winless after three matches in PSL

Bangladesh leg-spinner Rishad Hossain endured a disappointing outing for the Rawalpindi Pindiz as they fell to a seven-wicket defeat against Islamabad United in a Pakistan Super League match at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.

The debutant franchise remained winless after three matches -- one of the two teams yet to register a point, alongside Hyderabad Kingsmen -- while Islamabad grabbed the second position with five points in four fixtures, closing the gap on leaders Karachi Kings who tallied six points in three matches.

Sent to bat, despite Kamran Ghulam’s 50 off 39 balls, Rawalpindi ended on a below-par 156 for seven.

Called upon to provide late-innings impetus at number eight, Rishad was unable to find his range, managing only three runs off six deliveries.

Rishad’s fortunes did not improve during the second innings, where he proved expensive against an aggressive Islamabad chase.

The leg-spinner finished with figures of one for 36, struggling to contain the scoring rate as Islamabad reached the target in just 14.2 overs.

His solitary breakthrough came in the 12th over as Mohammad Faiq, batting at one-down, miscued a slog sweep from a flighted length ball around off stump, resulting in a catch by Daryl Mitchell at the edge of the circle. That over, however, saw 19 runs scored, with two fours and a six.

Islamabad opener Sameer Minhas was adjudged Player of the Match for his 36-ball 70, featuring seven boundaries and four sixes.