Peshawar Zalmi 179 for 8 (Haris 79, Rajapaksa 41, Hasan 3-39) beat Islamabad United 166 (Ashraf 38, Shahzad 3-19, Muqueem 3-37) by 13 runs
Quetta Gladiators’ defeat on Saturday evening evening confirmed this recreation can be little greater than a warm-up for when these two sides meet within the Eliminator on Thursday. And it was Peshawar Zalmi who made the extra consequential assertion, stifling United’s batting line-up for the second recreation in succession, edging them out by 13 runs.
United gained the toss and inserted Zalmi, making the very best begin when Fazalhaq Farooqi cleaned up Saim Ayub for a duck. However Haris was unfazed on the different finish, getting the ball rolling by clobbering Hasan Ali the next over. Farooqi wasn’t spared the next over, smoked for one more 14 at Haris’ arms. Rajapaksa joined in from the opposite finish, walloping Faheem Ashraf for 17 within the remaining powerplay over as Zalmi overcame the early dismissal to publish 69 within the first six.
The pair barely seen that the sector had been unfold out. Rajapaksa smashed Shadab for a six off his third ball earlier than Haris gave the United captain a hiding in his second over, citing a 26-ball 50, in addition to Zalmi’s hundred within the ninth over. By the midway mark, they’d posted 116, effectively on the right track to place up yet one more rating in extra of 200 at this bowlers’ graveyard.
Within the second half of the innings, nonetheless, United introduced the complete drive of their bowling to bear. Shadab eliminated Rajapaksa in his third over, earlier than a Zalmi procession of wickets ensued. Stand-in captain Tom-Kohler Cadmore, deputising for an ailing Babar Azam, was solely good for a cameo earlier than Shadab struck once more to take away the white-hot Haris, and Zalmi’s smooth underbelly was uncovered.
Hasan Ali struck twice within the seventeenth over to intestine the lower-middle order, and by now Zalmi have been hobbling. They limped to 179 by the point the innings closed out, which means the second ten overs had seen simply 63 runs scored and 7 wickets fall.
It ought to have been easy, even when Hassan Nawaz fell to Khurram Shahzad within the opening over. Sohaib Maqsood’s first-ball six was a Haris-like assertion of intent, however having flown to fifteen off 5 balls, he tickled one via to the keeper off his sixth. A scratchy innings from Alex Hales ended when Aamer Jamal received him to drill one to Kohler-Cadmore, and Neesham struck to finish a equally gritty innings from Colin Munro.
A breezy counterattacking stand from Shadab and Rahmanullah Gurbaz stored the asking charge on a leash, however it wasn’t to final. A Muqeem drag-down discovered the over fielder to dispose Shadab, and United out of the blue wilted. 4 wickets fell for 11 runs in 16 balls to out of the blue put United at risk of a walloping, needing an additional 69 with simply two wickets in hand.
Ashraf, the hero of an earlier recreation within the week, nonetheless, stored United alive with one other gorgeous onslaught, rushing alongside to 38 off 12, with United needing 14 off the ultimate 4 to ambush Zalmi. That was when Shahzad loved his best second in a Zalmi shirt, two excellent yorkers sneaking beneath the bats of Faheem – after which No.11 Farooqi – to sentence United to their second straight defeat.
The win right this moment gave Zalmi bragging rights. A repeat on Thursday would put them inside one recreation of the PSL remaining.
Danyal Rasool is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Danny61000
