ISLAMABAD: Peshawar Zalmi defeated Multan Sultans by four runs in their Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9th edition match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Peshawar won the toss and decided to bat first in the game. Skipper Babar Azam played a 64-run knock, while Saim Ayub scored 46 from 22 deliveries.
Haseebullah Khan added another 31 runs to take Peshawar to 204/5. In return, Iftikhar Ahmed put up a brilliant show by scoring 60 not out, but Multan finished only five runs short of win.
“Ifti Mania kept Multan Sultans in the game till the very end, but Peshawar Zalmi reign supreme tonight,” PSL commented on X after the match.
Usama Mir took three wickets for 32 runs, while Chris Jordan dismissed two 33 runs.
In their 205-run chase, things could have been better for Multan, had they scored at a quicker rate early on.
Apart from Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan and Chris Jordan were the only batsmen with significant scores of 32 and 30 not out, respectively.
Aamir Jamal took two for 36, while Mehran Mumtaz and Naveen-ul-Haq dismissed one each.
Table-toppers Multan have won six out of their eight games, while Peshawar have won four of their eight matches played this season.
Peshawar beat Multan by four runs in PSL thriller
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Peshawar beat Multan by four runs in PSL thriller
- Skipper Babar Azam played a 64-run knock, while Saim Ayub scored 46
- Chasing a 204-run target, Multan reached 200 runs from their 20 overs
China’s mediation eases fighting between Pakistan, Afghanistan — sources
- China’s envoy shuttles between Pakistan and Afghanistan to mediate in conflict
- Gulf countries that mediated in the past embroiled in Middle East conflict
ISLAMABAD/BEIJING: Chinese mediation efforts, including a message from President Xi Jinping, have helped ease the worst fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, three Pakistani government officials said.
The officials said a meeting between the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif late last month included a message from Xi to cease hostilities.
Neither side has reported any Pakistani air strikes on Afghanistan in recent days and ground fighting along the 2,600-km (1,600-mile) border has tapered off, although daily clashes continue to be reported.
China has said it is in contact with both countries about ending hostilities but Mosharraf Zaidi, a spokesman for Sharif who has previously said there would not be any talks with the Taliban, did not respond to questions about Beijing’s efforts.
Pakistani security officials have said the military campaign will continue until desired goals were achieved, which was to prevent militant attacks in Pakistan launched from Afghan soil.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry and military did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Islamabad launched air strikes on Afghanistan on February 26, saying the Taliban were providing a safe haven to militants carrying out attacks in Pakistan. Kabul denies the charge and says militancy in Pakistan is an internal problem.
The Chinese efforts came as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, who hosted talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan during previous clashes in October, have been embroiled in the war in the Middle East following the US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
“China’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan Affairs is currently shuttling between the two countries to mediate, while Chinese embassies in both nations maintain close communication with the respective parties,” the Chinese foreign ministry told Reuters in an email.
“The most urgent task is to prevent the fighting from expanding and for the two countries to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible.”
The foreign ministry added that Foreign Minister Wang Yi held telephone talks with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday to discuss the conflict.
China’s ambassador to Kabul, Zhao Xing, and the special envoy Yue Xiaoyong met Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi this week, the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have said they inflicted heavy damage on the other in the conflict and killed hundreds of opposition troops, without providing evidence. Reuters has not been able to verify the reports.
Beijing, a longtime Pakistani ally, has invested heavily in mines and minerals in both nations.
The investments include over $65 billion in road, rail and other development projects in Pakistan, part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative to expand land and sea trade routes to Europe and Africa.
