ABU DHABI: Islamabad United edged spirited Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs in a record high-scoring Pakistan Super League game on Thursday.
Islamabad stand-in captain Usman Khawaja hit an unbeaten 105 off 56 balls in his team’s PSL record total of 247-2 after Peshawar won the toss and elected to bat in its last league game.
Peshawar nearly upstaged Khawaja’s brilliant effort with a 232-6 reply as Shoaib Malik (68) and Kamran Akmal (53) led the charge.
“It was enjoyable to bat 20 overs,” Khawaja said. “I’m not trying to take anything away from our bowlers because they put in a great effort, but Shadab was resting. We knew we were probably going one short on pace.”
Islamabad bettered its own previous PSL record of 238-3 against Lahore Qalandars in 2019.
The Karachi Kings kept alive their playoff hopes with a seven-run win over the Lahore Qalandars.
The Kings batted first and posted 176-5, with Babar Azam scoring 54 and Martin Guptill belted 43 from 31 balls including three sixes. The Qalandars were right in the chase with contributions from Hohammad Hafeez (36), Tim David (34) and James Faulkner (33) but the chase was strangled by some tight bowling.
Noor Ahmad, the 16-year-old Afghani left-arm spinner, took 2-19 in four overs including the wickets of Hafeez and Ben Dunk (6).
In the opening match, Australian top-order batter Khawaja set the tempo in a brisk 98-run opening stand with Colin Munro (48) off only 59 balls. Munro just missed out on his third half-century in four games.
Islamabad’s ploy to promote power-hitter Asif Ali paid off for the two-time champions as he smacked five sixes and two boundaries in his 43 off 14 balls.
Brandon King added an unbeaten 46 off 22 balls.
Khawaja reached his third T20 century in the last over with a boundary followed by two successive sixes. The Islamabad-born Khawaja hit 13 fours and three sixes.
Peshawar lost Hazratullah Zazai off the first ball, but Akmal and Malik kept them in the hunt. Experienced fast bowler Hasan Ali picked up 3-43 that included the key wicket of Malik in the 17th over.
Sherfane Rutherford (29), captain Wahab Riaz (28) and Umaid Asif (20) played little cameos in the end to narrow the margin of defeat as fast bowler Akif Javed bowled well in the last over, giving away only seven runs.
“We were very pathetic in the field when we won the toss and bowled first knowing they were a bowler short,” Riaz said. “The attitude wasn’t there.”
Islamabad has already qualified for the playoffs, while Peshawar finished the league stage.
Islamabad edges Peshawar in record scoring PSL fixture in Abu Dhabi
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Islamabad edges Peshawar in record scoring PSL fixture in Abu Dhabi
- Islamabad United bettered own previous PSL record of 238-3 against Lahore Qalandars in 2019
- Peshawar won the toss and elected to bat in its last league game
Pakistan’s deputy PM visits Saudi Arabia for OIC meeting on West Bank
- The session will review Israel’s land registration move in occupied territory
- Dar will present Pakistan’s stance on Israel’s settlements, annexation plan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar embarked on a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, where he is scheduled to attend an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah to discuss Israel’s recent measures in the occupied West Bank.
Israel decided this month to approve land registration procedures in parts of the West Bank for the first time since 1967, drawing sharp criticism from Muslim nations along with several European countries, which described it as a move to ease the path for settlement expansion and annexation.
These countries urged Israel in a joint statement to reverse its decision and end settler violence against Palestinian residents in the West Bank.
“Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar60 has departed Islamabad for Saudi Arabia to attend the Open-Ended Extraordinary Ministerial Session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (#OIC) Executive Committee in Jeddah (26–28 February 2026),” the foreign office said in a social media post on X.
“He will hold sideline meetings with counterparts from OIC Member States,” it continued. “During the visit, he will also undertake brief visits to the Holy Cities.”
More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, excluding Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, alongside nearly three million Palestinians.
Settlements are considered illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes.
Addressing a weekly media briefing during the day, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the OIC conference would review Israel’s attempt to impose its sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.
“In the ministerial session of this OIC event, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister will share Pakistan’s perspective on this latest illegal measure by Israel to convert areas of the occupied West Bank into the so-called state land,” he added.
