ISLAMABAD: In the first HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) eliminator, Islamabad United defeated Peshawar Zalmi by 5 wickets at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday.
Peshawar won the toss and decided to bat.
Opener Kamran Akmal scored 58 off 39 deliveries while Shoaib Malik also impressed with batting performance by contributing 55 runs to his team's total.
Zalmi scored 169 at the loss of 5 wickets at the end of the first 20 overs, setting a target which skipper Wahab Riaz thought was defendable after the last PSL match between Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars on the same pitch.
However, Islamabad paced their innings well and defeated the rival team when 3 balls were still left.
Alex Hales scored 62 off 49 deliveries while Azam (28) and Shadab Khan (22) also made the required contributions.
Faheem Ashraf (19) and Liam Dawson (10) were instrumental in Islamabad's impressive victory toward the end of the match. Dawson only faced two balls after Azam Khan lost his wicket and hit the winning shot for his team.
Multan Sultans have already become the first team to qualify for the PSL final, beating Lahore Qalandars by 28 runs on Wednesday.
Lahore will now get another shot at securing a berth in the final by playing against Islamabad United tomorrow at 7:30pm.
