Islamabad: Peshawar Zalmi skipper Babar Azam starred in his side's 12-run victory over Islamabad United on Thursday, as the two sides locked horns for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) eliminator 1 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
"We are through to the semi-finals of the HBL PSL 8," Zalmi wrote on Twitter.
Batting first, Zalmi finished their innings at 183-8, helped by a blistering half-century by Azam. Batter Mohammad Haris made an impressive 34 runs from 17 balls while Saim Ayub scored 23 off 16 balls.
Peshawar Zalmi's Mohammad Haris, left, plays a shot during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty20 cricket eliminator match against Islamabad United at the Gaddafi Cricket Stadium in Lahore on March 16, 2023. (AFP)
While United's opening batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell early for 10 runs, Alex Hales and Sohaib Maqsood built a solid 115-run partnership before Maqsood departed for 60 from 48 balls. Azam Khan and Hales followed Maqsood to the pavilion soon, as United went from 128-2 to 137-4 in the 17th over. Hales scored 57 runs from 37 balls while Khan made only 2 runs from 3 balls.
Colin Munro and Faheem Ashraf were dismissed for cheap as well, with the former scoring 4 runs while the latter made only 5. A late blitz by United skipper Shadab Khan was not enough to save the match for United, who finished 12 runs short of the target on 171-6 after 20 overs.
Khan smashed 26 runs from 12 balls, which included a six and three fours.
Salman Irshad and Aamer Jamal starred for Zalmi, taking two wickets each. Irshad finished with figures of 2-18 while Jamal finished with 2-36. Azmatullah Omarzai picked up a wicket, giving away 33 runs from his four overs.
Jamal was awarded the Player of the Match award for his 2-36.
Zalmi will now face Lahore Qalandars for a place in the PSL 8 final. Multan Sultans have already qualified for the final after beating Qalandars by 84 runs on Wednesday.
