ISLAMABAD: Impressive performances from Haider Ali and Imad Wasim on Saturday night ensured Islamabad United qualified for their first Pakistan Super League (PSL) final since 2018, beating Peshawar Zalmi by five wickets in the Eliminator 2 of the tournament in Karachi.
Zalmi, who ended up with 185-5 after 20 overs, struck early blows during United’s batting when all-rounder Saim Ayub dismissed Alex Hales and Salman Ali Agha for 1 and 5 runs respectively.
Reeling at 50-4, United got a breather when Azam Khan and Imad Wasim got together to put up a 41-run fifth-wicket partnership, bringing some stability to the team. Luke Wood clean bowled Azam, who scored 22 from 17, to leave United at 91/5, requiring a further 95 runs in nine overs.
“Haider Ali joined Imad in the middle and the duo took it upon themselves to stage the rescue act,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a report.
Ali scored an unbeaten 52 runs from 29 balls, hitting five sixes and two fours while Wasim finished with 59 off 40 balls, hitting nine fours.
United chased the target with one over to spare, ending up with a score of 189/5 at the end of 19 overs. Wasim was awarded the Player of the Match award for his unbeaten half-century.
United pacer Naseem Shah was the pick of his team’s bowlers, finishing with figures of 3/30 from his four overs. He took the vital scalps of Zalmi skipper Babar Azam, Mohammad Haris and Tom Kohler-Cadmore.
Speaking at the post-match ceremony, a disappointed Azam said his team lost the decisive match as they bowled “ordinarily” after the first 10 overs.
“I think we were in a good position after 10 overs. But our bowling after that was very bad. We weren’t up to the mark and we thought we had won the match,” he said.
United will take on former champions Multan Sultans at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi on Monday, Mar. 18, for the PSL 2024 final.
Islamabad stun Peshawar to qualify for first PSL final in six years
https://arab.news/2823f
Islamabad stun Peshawar to qualify for first PSL final in six years
- Haider Ali, Imad Wasim score unbeaten half-centuries to help Islamabad beat Peshawar by five wickets
- Islamabad will lock horns with Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League final on Monday, Mar. 18
Pakistan to send over 10,000 workers to Italy over three years after securing employment quota
- Government says Italy will admit 3,500 workers annually under seasonal and non-seasonal labor schemes
- It calls the deal a 'milestone' as Italy becomes the first European country to allocate job quota for Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has secured a quota of 10,500 jobs from Italy over the next three years, an official statement said on Saturday, opening legal employment pathways for Pakistani workers in Europe under Italy’s seasonal and non-seasonal labor programs.
Under the arrangement, 3,500 Pakistani workers will be employed in Italy each year, including 1,500 seasonal workers hired for time-bound roles, and 2,000 non-seasonal workers for longer-term employment across sectors.
The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development said Italy is the first European country to allocate a dedicated labor quota to Pakistan, describing the move as a milestone in Pakistan’s efforts to expand overseas employment opportunities beyond traditional labor markets in the Middle East.
“After prolonged efforts, doors to employment for the Pakistani workforce in Italy are about to open,” Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Chaudhry Salik Hussain said, calling the quota allocation a “historic milestone.”
The jobs will be available across multiple sectors, including shipbreaking, hospitality, healthcare and agriculture, with opportunities for skilled and semi-skilled workers in professions such as welding, technical trades, food services, housekeeping, nursing, medical technology and farming.
The agreement comes as Pakistan seeks to diversify overseas employment destinations for its workforce and increase remittance inflows, which remain a key source of foreign exchange for the country’s economy.
The ministry said a second meeting of the Pakistan-Italy Joint Working Group on labor cooperation is scheduled to be held in Islamabad in February 2026, where implementation and future cooperation are expected to be discussed.
