Drama broke out in the Pakistan Super League on Friday after Daryl Mitchell, one of New Zealand’s top batters, flat-out refused to face Quetta Gladiators’ mystery spinner Usman Tariq. The reason? Tariq’s odd bowling action, where he almost comes to a halt in his run-up before releasing the ball, really got under Mitchell’s skin.
This all unfolded during the middle overs as Rawalpindiz chased at the National Stadium. Every time Tariq shuffled up for one of his deliveries with that exaggerated pause, Mitchell looked more and more annoyed. At one point, Mitchell stepped away from his stumps and let the umpire know he wasn’t ready to face the delivery. He pulled out of the crease more than once, and the looks he shot at the umpire said it all.
On-air commentators couldn’t hide their irritation either. Ramiz Raja openly said Mitchell needed to handle the situation better. But if this was a mind-game, Mitchell didn’t blink first.
You could see echoes of Ravichandran Ashwin’s tactics in Tariq’s approach. Ashwin recently made waves by defending the legality of such bowling pauses, saying that if a bowler’s delivery stride is so unpredictable it throws off the batter’s timing, then the batter has every right to pull out. Mitchell did just that, sparking a long chat between the umpires and Quetta’s captain. In the end, Tariq carried on with no formal warning—his bowling action, after all, is officially deemed legal by the ICC.
So, Mitchell and Tariq hit headlines for a mid-over standoff, but on the scoreboard, it was all Quetta Gladiators. They ran out easy winners by 61 runs and moved up in the 2026 table.
Batting first, Quetta piled on 182 for 6, thanks in large part to veteran Rilee Rossouw’s cool-headed 53. Saud Shakeel chipped in and together, they absorbed early pressure from the Rawalpindiz pace attack. A late onslaught got Quetta past 180.
Rawalpindiz, chasing, never got settled. Wickets kept tumbling and only Saad Masood managed anything respectable, making 31. The rest of the line-up just couldn’t cope with the required run rate.
And despite all the mid-innings drama, Usman Tariq ended up as the night’s standout bowler. He closed out his four overs with 2 for 23, including the prized wicket of Mitchell not long after their face-off. On a batting-friendly pitch, going at just 5.75 an over is impressive, and right now, Tariq’s unusual technique is turning into a serious advantage for the Gladiators.
After five straight losses, Rawalpindiz are stuck at the bottom of the table. Quetta, meanwhile, climb to fifth, with two wins in their first five matches.
