Kevin Pietersen suffered a consecutive golden duck in Quetta Gladiator’s first loss on Wednesday, as pressure starts to build on his PSL campaign. 

In an earlier interview with SACricketmag.com, the ex-England superstar spoke about the pressures that Rilee Rossouw would face in his new career as a Kolpak player, but Pietersen has found himself struggling to find some form. He hasn’t managed to pass the single-digit club scoring 3, 0 and then 0 in his matches for Quetta. In contrast, his teammate managed to smash two match-winning scores, a 60 in his first match and 76 not out in his second, to help his side claim two wins in two.

Although Rossouw could not replicate his two opening performances in the match against Islamabad United on Wednesday, the pressure has now shifted to Pietersen.

Without a contribution from Rossouw (7), Quetta only managed to post 148 in their 20 overs. Asad Shafiq put in a good performance scoring 45 off 42 balls, with cameo performances coming from Ahmed Shehzad (26 off 15), Thisara Perera (27 off 18) and 29 not out off 20 from Mahmudullah.

Sam Billings’ strike was superb for United and was the main contributor for his side throughout their innings. He struggled to find any worthy partnerships as Dwayne Smith (10) and Brad Haddin (6) lost their wickets to Mohammad Nawaz after 7.5 overs. Shane Watson managed to put in a vital shift for his side, scoring 36 off 27 before losing his wicket to Perera. With three runs to win off the last seven deliveries, another wicket fell, Asif Ali losing his wicket to Umar Gul.

Billings, however, was too hot to handle hitting 78 off of 50 balls to hand Quetta their first defeat as they lost by five wickets.

Quetta Gladiators vs Islamabad United scorecard

Photo: Paul Kane/Getty Images