KARACHI: Peshawar Zalmi lost for only the third time in 10 matches against the Karachi Kings on Friday to kickstart their latest PSL campaign. Chasing a stiff target of 202, Zalmi launched an audacious late assault that almost gave them a win. But it was a former Zalmi, Umaid Asif, who displayed superhero moves to clinch the game for the home side.
The Karachi crowd at the National Stadium has a reputation for being raucous, and the beauty of the PSL is that a parochial crowd like this gets to cheer its own city, rather than a national side. Babar Azam, who has replaced Shahid Afridi as the one player whose name the crowd loves to chant, scored his highest ever total in the PSL to take Karachi to a crowd-pleasing total. He was joined by his skipper Imad Wasim, who played one of his finest innings in this format. Striking the ball with an imperiousness not usually associated with his batting, Imad's 97 run partnership with Babar set up the mammoth target.
Of course, for all of Imad's imperiousness, it's Babar who is the true batting royalty. He showed off why crowds love him so much with an array of delightful shots, including two gorgeous shots for six. Moreover, along with his highest score, this was the sixth fastest innings he had ever had in the league. Darren Sammy's bowlers never truly got into the game, although Wahab Riaz bowled far better than his figures suggested and was superb at the death, conceding just eleven runs in two overs.
In reply, Peshawar Zalmi didn't get off to the best of starts, before perennial scorer Kamran Akmal and newly acquired veteran Shoaib Malik stabilized the innings. Once those two fell with more than half the target still to get, the match began to proceed like a formality. Liam Livingstone though, had other ideas. First with his fellow Liam, Dawson and then with his skipper Sammy, he put on a 109 runs in 10 overs en route to an unbeaten half century.
Sammy, who more than the Zalmi skipper is really their talisman, walked out to a lost cause with 74 needed off 33. But for the umpteenth time in the PSL, his mere presence seemed to turn the match on its head. Karachi's bowlers, began feeding both Zalmi batters with length deliveries that they started sending over the ropes. The home crowd wasn't quite partisan, but its nerves were apparent even as they cheered the boisterous batting.
Just when it looked like Zalmi had pulled off an incredible heist, Umaid Asif decided to remind his former side why they were wrong to let him go. Chosen to bowl the final over with Mohammad Amir having gone off injured, the pacer varied his speed with great skill to kill off the chase. Umaid had became famous for wearing an Iron Man jersey under his shirt which he would display when celebrating a wicket. But with three balls to go, he looked decidedly like Superman instead as he dived to take the catch that would dismiss Sammy, and effectively end the match.
As perennial tournament favorites, Zalmi won't mind this defeat, and while they won't be happy with their bowling, their batting looked very dangerous. They'll also hope for more from Shoaib Malik, who had a rare dropped catch to go with an uneven performance. But given his immense experience and winning history in the format, he remains one of the many reasons why Peshawar looked like a contender even in defeat.
