RAWALPINDI: Peshawar Zalmi narrowly defeated Islamabad United by 13 runs in the 29th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eighth at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
The result also confirms that defending champions Lahore Qalandars will face Multan Sultans in the tournament’s Qualifier.
Chasing a target of 180 runs, Islamabad United were all out for 166 in 19.4 overs.
Islamabad United had been set a target of 180 runs after they won the toss and decided to field first against Peshawar Zalmi. Mohammad Haris scored 79 runs, while Rajapaksha scored 41 runs.
Islamabad United’s pacer Hasan Ali grabbed three wickets, while skipper Shadab Khan took two wickets.
Mohammad Haris and Rajapaksa added 115 runs in 58 balls for the second wicket, but the Peshawar Zalmi innings faded away after their departure due to the regular fall of wickets.
Pacer Hasan Ali bagged three wickets; meanwhile, skipper Shadab Khan claimed two scalps for Islamabad United.
The Peshawar Zalmi have named English cricketer Tom Kohler-Cadmore as the team’s skipper for today’s match after skipper Babar Azam was dropped as he was feeling unwell.
Shadab Khan got rid of both Rajapaksa and Haris before Hasan Ali took three quick wickets to reduce Peshawar Zalmi to 161/8 in 17 overs from a strong position of 116/1 in 10 overs.
Islamabad United earned the breakthrough in the very first over through pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi who dismissed youngster Sam Ayub on a duck.
Haris, however, wrested the momentum back from Islamabad United’s grip along with Rajapaksa as Peshawar Zalmi raised 69 for the loss of one in the powerplay.
The right-hander took 26 balls to complete his fifty while Rajapaksa chipped in with a controlled knock of 25-ball 41 before Shadab sent him back in the hut.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who stood in as Peshawar Zalmi captain in the absence of Babar Azam, could not create a major impact with an additional burden on his shoulder as he fell prey to Faheem Ashraf in the 12th over on a paltry 12 from 5 balls.
Shadab handed Peshawar Zalmi the most fatal blow in the next over when he perished strong-looking Haris with Hasan grabbing the catch at long-on
Haris’ dismissal triggered the panic button for Peshawar Zalmi, which saw the next four wickets falling quickly for the addition of 21 runs between the 14th and 17th over.
Hasan Ali opened his account with a big wicket of James Neesham (1) before dismissing Aamer Jamal (9) and Mujeeb ur Rehman (2) in the same over.
Amid Hasan’s phenomenal spell, Mohammad Wasim cleaned up Haseebullah Khan to register his name to the wickets column.
It must be noted that Lahore Qalandars, Multan Sultans, United, and Zalmi have already qualified for the playoffs; however, the knockout fixtures will be confirmed after today’s matches.
The day’s second match will be played between Qalandars and Karachi Kings at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Peshawar Zalmi Playing XI
Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (c), Haseebullah Khan (wk), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, James Neesham, Aamer Jamal, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Khurram Shahzad, Salman Irshad, Sufiyan Muqeem
Islamabad United Playing XI
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Sohaib Maqsood, Shadab Khan (c), Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Hassan Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Hasan Ali, Fazalhaq Farooqi
