Peshawar Zalmi 207 all out (Ayub 68, Babar 50, Shaheen 4-31) beat Lahore Qalandars 172 all out (Talat 63, Shaheen 52, Wahab 3-17) by 35 runs
Peshawar Zalmi put of their finest efficiency of the season to brush apart Lahore Qalandars by 50 runs. A sensational knock from Saim Ayub, whose 36-ball 68 gave Zalmi an early benefit they by no means relinquished, helped his aspect amass 207, earlier than 4 early wickets effected a preemptive strike on Qalandars efforts to chase it down. Fifties from Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hussain Talat restored respectability to the whole after they’d been lowered to 21 for 4, however an excessive amount of floor had been misplaced for any lifelike prospects of victory. The consequence additionally eradicated Karachi Kings from the PSL, and leaves Quetta Gladiators hanging by an ever-more precarious thread.
Ayub opened the batting for the primary time for Zalmi, and instantly made an impression. He smashed Haris Rauf for a six and a 4 off his first two balls, and Shaheen was dispatched for 3 boundaries within the over that adopted. Sikandar Raza was dismantled within the fifth over, 21 runs coming off it as a very good Powerplay turned an excellent one. Even Rashid Khan, bowling after the fielding restrictions ended, would not be spared as Ayub scored 16 off six balls towards him earlier than a improper’un from the Afghan introduced the curtain down on an outstanding innings.
Babar Azam had been quietly accumulating on the different finish, maybe slowing down a contact an excessive amount of after the Powerplay, however the group rating nonetheless seemed rosy. He was in nice contact, timing and putting his strokes with the standard easy grace. But it did come on the slight price of run charge, his 41-ball 50 meant a strike charge of 121.95; nobody else within the prime seven had a decrease strike charge than 150.
It was Tom Kohler-Cadmore who saved the momentum going for Zalmi after Ayub and Mohammad Haris fell, smashing two sixes off his first two in a delightfully breezy cameo. He would finish with 36 off 16 to set Zalmi up for a complete in extra of 220, however Shaheen and Rauf struck again onerous on the demise, taking six wickets between them. Zalmi misplaced their final eight wickets in 24 balls for 39 runs to finish up improbably bowled out for 207, giving Qalandars a sniff towards a probably suspect bowling assault.
But their prime order put in a second successive poor displaying. It wasn’t till the eighth supply that the primary run off the bat was scored, and by then, rookie opener Shawaiz Irfan had been cleaned up by Arshad Iqbal. Iqbal was spectacular in his first two overs, which went for simply three, whereas a double-strike within the fifth over from Wahab Riaz removed Fakhar Zaman and Sam Billings in a decisive passage of play. Azmatullah Omarzai adopted up by eliminating Abdullah Shafique with a brief ball, and Qalandars had been right down to their decrease center order inside the first six overs.
In a sport that meant much less to Qalandars than it did to Zalmi, Shaheen promoted himself as much as No. 6 as soon as extra. When he’d managed simply 1 run in 9 balls, it seemed like an odd resolution, but it surely was only a prelude to a enjoyable, if unlikely partnership. As Zalmi’s depth within the center overs fell by way of the ground, Shaheen and Talat made hay, placing on a 114-run partnership with each batters scoring half-centuries. It by no means seemed to imperil a Zalmi victory, however with internet run charge probably necessary, these had been nonetheless annoying runs to concede. Wahab finally broke the partnership, and ended with figures of 4-1-17-3, together with a staggering 18 dot balls in an excellent efficiency.
For a short second, Raza’s blazing cameo gave Qalandars a faint glimmer, and it was solely when Omarzai cleaned him up for 20 off 7 did Zalmi relaxation simple. The final 5 wickets fell in a flurry off 11 balls to provide Zalmi an finally snug victory. They have by no means missed out on the playoffs in PSL historical past, and this victory took them a large leap nearer to conserving that document up.
Source web site: www.espncricinfo.com
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