Jason Holder and Colin Munro came out all guns blazing, helping them cruise past Lahore Qalandars in the tournament opener.

Once Lahore lost those two key middle-order wickets, their innings never really recovered. The scoring rate crawled, and Islamabad's bowlers kept the screws tight — especially Holder, who came back in the death overs and absolutely shut the door. 💥 Holder’s Spell: Clinical & Classy His figures of 4 for 26 were a perfect blend of sharp variations and spot-on execution. Whenever Lahore tried to lift the tempo, Holder was there to snuff the momentum. His wickets of the lower order stopped any late surge and left United chasing a modest 140. 🧠 Munro Masterclass: Chasing low scores can sometimes get tricky, especially if early wickets fall — but Colin Munro made sure that wasn’t the case. He was proactive, using the sweep and reverse sweep against the spinners to great effect and showing all his experience. His 42-ball 59 not out was calm, composed, and decisive. ⚡ United Look Sharp This win wasn’t just about individual brilliance — it was a statement. The defending champions looked like a side that's already locked into game mode, and they’ll be tough to beat if this balance of power hitting, disciplined bowling, and smart captaincy from Shadab continues. Abdullah Shafique really was the lone bright spark for Lahore, wasn’t he? His innings had a bit of everything — poise, power, and purpose — especially the way he kept using his feet to disrupt the spinners' lengths and timing those lofted drives so cleanly. That straight six off Imad Wasim was pure class. But in the end, cricket’s an unforgiving game when the wickets keep tumbling at the other end. His 66 off 38 deserved more support, but once Raza fell and that three-wickets-for-two-runs collapse hit, the writing was on the wall. Jason Holder’s spell was peak T20 death bowling — subtle variations, hitting the hard length, mixing pace — and those back-to-back wickets of Jahandad Khan and David Wiese were probably the turning point that killed any hopes of a competitive total. And once Shafique finally fell, Shadab Khan put the finishing touch on a sharp, professional bowling performance. Islamabad really sent out a message here: ✅ Early breakthroughs ✅ Holding their nerve in the middle overs ✅ Clinical death bowling ✅ An experienced hand like Munro making the chase a formality. That was classic Islamabad United — even without the early fireworks, they showed the patience and composure of a champion side. On a tricky surface like that, it was always going to be about absorbing the early pressure, and Munro’s calmness at one end was the perfect anchor. Asif Afridi’s spell was a real standout in an otherwise forgettable Qalandars bowling effort — an old-school left-arm spinner using flight and drift to tie batters down, especially in the powerplay, is a rare sight in T20 cricket these days. But once Farhan and Munro weathered that storm, the tide completely turned. That 17-run over from Wiese pretty much killed the contest, didn’t it? After that, the chase looked inevitable. Agha Salman’s timing was on point too — that slap over mid-off off Rauf was such a statement shot, showing there was no panic even with the finish line in sight. United’s depth and experience once again proved why they’re so hard to beat, especially in low-scoring scraps. It wasn’t flashy, but it was clinical — the kind of win that quietly builds momentum across a season.