Imad Wasim’s 59 triumphed Saim Ayub’s 73 as Islamabad United defeated Peshawar Zalmi by five wickets in Eliminator 2 of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9 on Saturday night.
United chased down the 186-run target with five wickets and six balls to spare. They will meet Multan Sultans in the final of the tournament at the National Bank Stadium on Monday.
It was a do-or-die situation for Islamabad, but their top-order crumbled under pressure. United lost four wickets for 50 runs in the powerplay.
No player other than Martin Guptill (34 off 21) in the top four entered double digits. Alex Hales (0), Salman Ali Agha (5), and Shadab Khan (0), departed without disrturbing the scoreboard.
Imad Wasim and Azam Khan brought them back in the hunt with a 41-run stand for the fifth wicket. However, it was the unbeaten 98-run stand for the sixth-wicket between Imad and Haider Ali that changed the context of the game.
Haider, who hasn’t had a successful run in the tournament, played the innings of his life with his 29-ball 52. He hit four massive sixes and two boundaries in his knock.
However, the man of the moment was Imad Wasim (59 off 40), who walked in when Islamabad were 3 wickets down for just 21 runs, and went on to finish the game.
Islamabad required 68 from the last six overs to hunt down the 186-run target, but thanks to these two, they chased it down in 19 overs.
First innings
After being put into bat, Peshawar started strongly, scoring 59 runs in the powerplay without losing any wickets.
Saim Ayub, the local boy, made full use of his home advantage and took Islamabad bowlers to the cleaners.
Babar Azam was the first wicket to fall for Peshawar when they had 72 on the board in the 8th over. He scored 22-ball 25.
Mohammad Haris joined Saim in the middle. The two put together a 59-run stand for the second wicket at a rapid pace.
Peshawar were all set to take off, but the next four wickets of Saim (73 off 44), Haris (40 off 25), Rovman Powell (2 off 7), and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (18 off 9) fell for just 29 runs, hammering their run rate.
However, a 25-run partnership off just 10 balls between Cadmore and Jamal pushed their total to 185/5 in given 20 overs.
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Past PSL Winners
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PSL 2016 – Islamabad United
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PSL 2017 – Peshawar Zalmi
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PSL 2018 – Islamabad United
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PSL 2019 – Quetta Gladiators
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PSL 2020 – Karachi Kings
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PSL 2021 – Multan Sultans
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PSL 2022 - Lahore Qalandars
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PSL 2023 - Lahore Qalandars
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