Peshawar Zalmi defeated Islamabad United by 10 runs to gain two crucial points in the 24th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season seven on Thursday.
Chasing a 207-run target, Islamabad United were restricted to 196/7 in 20 overs.
Earlier, Peshawar Zalmi posted 206/8 on the board on the back of young Mohammad Haris’ sensational half-century.
Getting the first 100 in just 7.4 overs, Zalmi looked poised to touch the 230-run mark but were restricted to 206/8 thanks to a splendid comeback from Islamabad bowlers.
Haris (73), Yasir Khan (35), and a quick-fire 38 from Shoaib Malik were key contributors from Zalmi.
Faheem Ashraf was impressive for Zalmi with his figures of 3 for 33 in a high-scoring game.
With a massive total on the board, Islamabad United took a blistering start to their innings, reaching the first fifty in just three overs, thanks to a quickfire 46 from Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
Mubassir Khan (21), Danish Aziz (0), Liam Dawson (4), and Asif Ali (11) fell early, but Azam Khan’s brilliant innings of 85 off just 45 balls kept Islamabad in the game.
With 25 required from the last two overs, skipper Wahab Riaz bowled a game-changing over. He took the crucial wicket of Azam Khan and conceded just three runs.
The final over, bowled by Ben Cutting, went for 11 runs, leaving Islamabad ten runs short of the target.
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Points Table Update
The win gives Peshawar Zalmi two crucial points to lift them to third place in the points table.
Meanwhile, Multan Sultans are still at the top with 14 points. Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi follow them in the second and third places with 10 points each.
Islamabad United are in the 4th spot with eight points, Quetta Gladiators are fifth with six points, while Karachi Kings are reeling at the bottom of the table with eight losses on the trot.
Next fixtures
Fans will witness a doubleheader on Friday, with Multan Sultans taking on Quetta Gladiators in the first match and Karachi Kings facing Lahore Qalandars in the second. The first match, to be played at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, will start at 2:30 pm, while the second match will commence at 7:30 pm.
Past PSL Winners
PSL 2016 – Islamabad United
PSL 2017 – Peshawar Zalmi
PSL 2018 – Islamabad United
PSL 2019 – Quetta Gladiators
PSL 2020 – Karachi Kings
PSL 2021 – Multan Sultans