KARACHI: A chance to win their first Pakistan Super League cricket title returns for Multan Sultans, Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars when the playoffs resume on Saturday after an eight-month pandemic-enforced break.
The fourth team, Peshawar Zalmi, was the 2017 champion.
Karachi plays Multan in the first qualifier, with the winner advancing to the final. The loser will have a second chance to reach the final by playing the winner of the eliminator on Saturday between Lahore and Peshawar.
The fifth PSL was postponed on March 17 after England batsman Alex Hales was suspected of contracting COVID-19 just an hour before the playoffs. Hales is back for Karachi, but not two of his foreign teammates, the West Indies' Kieron Pollard and England's Chris Jordan.
They are touring with their national teams and have been replaced by South African Wayne Parnell and West Indian Sherfane Rutherford. They will complement a team already boasting Pakistan captain Babar Azam and fast bowler Mohammad Amir.
Multan lost England's James Vince and Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah after they tested positive in predeparture COVID-19 tests. Mahmudullah had replaced Moeen Ali, who was picked for England's tour of South Africa.
But Multan has roped in English top-order batsmen Adam Lyth and Joe Denly along with Brendan Taylor of Zimbabwe.
Lahore has retained Australian batsman Ben Dunk, who has 266 runs at an average of 53.20 with a league-leading 23 sixes, and fast bowler Shaheen Afridi, who tops the bowling chart with 13 wickets in nine matches at 18.92.
Peshawar has replaced an unavailable Darren Sammy with South Africa’s Faf du Plessis, who will be making his PSL debut. Du Plessis scored more than 400 runs for Chennai Super Kings in the recent Indian Premier League in the United Arab Emirates.
Pakistan Super League playoffs resume after 8-month delay
https://arab.news/8539u
Pakistan Super League playoffs resume after 8-month delay
- Karachi plays Multan in the first qualifier, with the winner advancing to the final
- Peshawar has replaced Darren Sammy with South Africa’s Faf du Plessis, who will be making his PSL debutd
Pakistan spin out Australia in second T20I to take series
- Salman Agha’s 76 and Usman Khan’s 53 lift Pakistan to 198-5, their highest T20I total against Australia
- Pakistan’s spinners take all 10 wickets as Australia are bowled out for 108, sealing an unbeatable 2-0 series lead
LAHORE: Skipper Salman Agha hit his highest score in the shortest format before Pakistan’s spinners routed Australia by 90 runs in the second Twenty20 international in Lahore on Saturday.
Agha hit a 40-ball 76 and Usman Khan smashed a 36-ball 53 as Pakistan made 198-5, their highest-ever T20I total against Australia.
This was enough for Pakistan’s spin quintet who shared all ten wickets between them with Abrar Ahmed returning the best figures of 3-14 and Shadab Khan finishing with 3-26.
Australia were routed for 108 in 15.4 overs, giving Pakistan their biggest T20I victory over Australia eclipsing the 66-run win in Abu Dhabi in 2018.
“It has to be a perfect game,” said Agha. “We batted well and then were outstanding with the ball. Fielding was outstanding.”
The victory gives Pakistan an unbeatable 2-0 lead after they won the first match by 22 runs, also in Lahore, on Friday.
“We want to play in the same way, forget the 2-0 scoreline and come again with the same intensity and go to the World Cup with the same energy,” said Agha of the event starting in India and Sri Lanka from February 7.
This is Pakistan’s first T20I series win over Australia since 2018. The final match is on Sunday, also in Lahore.
Despite skipper Mitchell Marsh coming back after resting on Friday, the visiting batters had little answer to Pakistan’s spin assault.
Ahmed dismissed Marsh for 18, Josh Inglis for five and Matthew Short for 27.
Cameroon Green top scored with a 20-ball 35 before spinner Usman Tariq dismissed him on his way to figures of 2-16.
Marsh admitted Pakistan were better.
“Pakistan outplayed us,” said Marsh. “Hopefully, we can improve and come back tomorrow. They put us under great pressure in batting; it was probably a 160-170 wicket so they scored a big total.”
Earlier, Agha and Usman led Pakistan to a fighting total after they won the toss and batted.
Agha built the innings with Saim Ayub (11-ball 23) during a second wicket stand of 55 as Pakistan scored 72 runs in the power-paly.
Agha’s previous highest in all T20 cricket was 68 not out.
After Babar Azam failed with a five-ball two, Usman helped Agha add another quickfire 49 for the fourth wicket before Sean Abbott broke the stand.
Agha smashed four sixes and eight fours in his sixth Twenty20 half century.
Pakistan added a good 61 runs in the last five overs with Usman knocking two sixes and four fours in his second T20I half century while Shadab’s knock had two sixes and a four.
The Usman-Shadab fifth-wicket stand yielded 63 runs off just 39 balls.
Shadab finished with an unbeaten 20-ball 28.
Pacer Xavier Bartlett and spinner Matthew Kuhnemann were expensive, conceding 92 runs between them in their eight overs.
