KARACHI: Peshawar Zalmi on Saturday outclassed Islamabad United in a one-sided contest, winning its third straight match and reaching the top of the points table by defeating its rival by six wickets in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) tournament.
Peshawar won the toss and invited Islamabad to bat on a wicket where all PSL matches during this season have been won by the teams chasing, including those who faced the daunting challenge of making over 190 runs.
Zalmi took early wickets and dismissed United for the tournament’s lowest total of 118 runs in 17.1 overs.
In response, Peshawar cruised to 122-4 with 17 balls to spare. Haider Ali hit three sixes and three fours in 36 off 18 balls.
Zalmi was 6-2 when it started batting, but Tom Kohler-Cadmore (46) and Shoaib Malik (29 not out) steadied the chase and Ali finished off.
Earlier, Riaz led his team’s strike against Islamabad by taking the wicket of Paul Stirling in the first over. Phil Salt was the second to go after he lost his wicket to English bowler Saqib Mahmood. Salt scored 9 off 11 balls.
Faheem Ashraf who had made significant contributions to his team’s total in the last matches only managed to score two runs. Skipper Shahab Khan was run out on a good throw by Imam-ul-Haq to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal.
Alex Hales who remained the top scorer of the match for his side (41 off 27) was the next to go to the pavilion. Hussain Talat scored 22 off 15, Iftikhar Ahmed 7 off 12, and Asif 19 off 12.
Wahab Riaz remained the most successful bowler and showed his best performance in PSL tournaments by grabbing four wickets and conceding 17 runs. Saqib Mahmood also demonstrated outstanding bowling skills by taking 4 wickets in 2.1 overs.
Mujeeb-ur-Rehman and Umaid Asif both grabbed one wicket each.
Earlier in the day, Babar Azam helped Karachi Kings win a match against Multan Sultan by hitting his second successive PSL half century.
Babar’s unbeaten 90 off 60 balls — including 13 fours and a six — led Karachi to 198-3 with seven balls to spare in yet another successful chase in Pakistan’s premier Twenty20 league, Associated Press reported.
Multan had earlier spoiled a blistering start and were restricted to 195-6 as Karachi skipper Imad Wasim followed a familiar script of captains putting the opposition into bat after winning the toss.
Peshawar defeats two-time PSL champion Islamabad by 6 wickets
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Peshawar defeats two-time PSL champion Islamabad by 6 wickets
- Zalmi’s third straight victory has put it on top of the tournament’s points table
- Peshawar’s skipper Wahab Riaz led from the front by taking four wickets and conceding 17 runs
Pakistan to take on India in Super Six fixture of Men’s U19 World Cup — PCB
- Pakistan need to defeat India by a healthy margin to secure a spot in semifinals
- England sit at the top of the table with six points in the mega cricket tournament
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan are all geared up to take on India in their final Super Six fixture of the ICC Under-19 (U19) Men’s Cricket World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said late Friday.
Pakistan will face arch-rivals India at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Sunday, February 1, with the first ball scheduled to be bowled at 9.30am local time.
The last time two sides met was during the ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup final, where Pakistan defeated India by 191 runs to clinch the title at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai. Sameer Minhas scored 172 runs while right-arm pacer Ali Raza bagged four wickets.
Pakistan, who currently have four points and are placed third in Group 2 of the Super Six stage, need to defeat India by a healthy margin to secure a spot in the semifinals. England sit at the top of the table with six points and are currently playing New Zealand at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.
“Our next match is against India, which is very important as there is a semifinal at stake. We have clear plans for every match and we put in a lot of hard work accordingly,” said Usman Khan, who has scored 122 runs from four matches in the ongoing mega event.
“We will try to perform well in the next game to qualify for the next stage.”
After arriving in Bulawayo from Harare on Wednesday afternoon, Pakistan took a day off before participating in a scenario-based practice game at the Bulawayo Athletic Club on Friday. Pakistan will also take part in a training session at the same venue today (Saturday).
“Before the tournament, we held several camps in Multan where a strong focus was placed on fielding. We had productive sessions there and as a result the team has improved a lot in this department,” Khan said.
“Our preparations have been very good. The scenario-based match was of high quality and it closely reflected actual match conditions.”
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Farhan Yousaf (captain), Usman Khan (vice-captain), Abdul Subhan, Ahmed Hussain, Ali Hasan Baloch, Ali Raza, Daniyal Ali Khan, Hamza Zahoor (wk), Huzaifa Ahsan, Momin Qamar, Mohammad Sayyam, Niqab Shafiq, Sameer Minhas and Umar Zaib
