The 2024 edition of the PSL served another nail-biting contest, as Babar Azam-led Peshawar Zalmi won a close contest against Islamabad United on 26th February, 2023
Babar Azam and his side have now won three games on the trot, and this time around, it was a Babar Azam special that grabbed the headlines.
As it stands, Peshawar Zalmi have all of a sudden jumped to the third place in the points table after a shaky start to their campaign, while Shadab Khan’s Islamabad United have dropped down to the fifth place with just the solitary win so far from a total of five games played.
On that note, let us look at 3 reasons that cost Islamabad United the game against Peshawar Zalmi:
(1)A Babar Azam special with the bat
As they call him, the “king” played a spectacular knock at his home ground in Lahore, scoring his 11th hundred in the format. Babar Azam lit up the stage as the great man once again played a match-winning knock for his side.
The Islamabad United bowlers kept him calm until the 15th over, but Babar Azam never looked back after that. From being 52 off 41 deliveries at the end of the 15th over, to ending the Peshawar Zalmi innings with an unbeaten 111 off 63 deliveries, the run-machine from Pakistan proved why he is one of the best in the business.
Despite getting some crunchy boundaries every now and then, Babar Azam still looked like he was struggling to accelerate. However, it was Shadab Khan’s decision to bowl the 16th over himself that helped the Peshawar Zalmi skipper break the shackles.
Babar Azam, who had managed to hit just two boundaries post the powerplay until that point, put two half-trackers away in that Shadab Khan over, and that got him going. What makes such batsmen so special is their ability to immediately pounce on any shift in momentum. Shadab Khan’s decision had truly backfired, as Babar Azam then looked in sublime touch and went on to smash four boundaries and a six off Hunain Shah’s bowling.
Although there really isn’t a way to stop such batters when they are at their best, bowling an inexperienced Hunain Shah in the death overs was always going to be a risky move, at least with Babar Azam still out there.
Eventually, it was this gem of a knock that turned out to be the difference between the two sides. Shadab Khan and his men did really well to get rid of the likes of Mohammad Haris, Haseebullah Khan and Rovman Powell cheaply, but they just could not find a way against arguably Pakistan’s greatest – Babar Azam.
(2)Arif Yaqoob and his nerves of steel
Azam Khan’s blistering 30-ball 75 had brought Islamabad United right back into the game. When he came in, the asking rate was close to 13, but he cleared the ropes with utmost ease and played one of the best knocks of this season.
Islamabad United needed just 21 runs to win off the last two overs, and with six wickets in hand, they were clear favorites.
What followed was one of the most mind-boggling penultimate overs one would ever come across in T20 cricket. Babar Azam took the risk and handed the ball over to right-arm leg-spinner Arif Yaqoob.
A dramatic comeback unfurled as he struck four times in the over, turning the game around completely on it head. He got rid of the well set Colin Munro, before outwitting Haider Ali, Faheem Ashraf and Hunain Shah in the same over.
Losing 5 wickets in 7 deliveries, Islamabad United choked and choked real bad. It was really brave captaincy from Babar Azam and even braver bowling by Arif Yaqoob who was not afraid to toss it up away from the batters’ reach.
Credit must be given to Arif Yaqoob, who held his nerves under pressure. He ended up with a 5-fer, and is now the third leading wicket taker of the season.
(3)Set batters failing to see Islamabad United through
As good as Arif Yaqoob was, one could still argue that it was Azam Khan or Colin Munro’s job to take their side home after doing all the hard work. They were dismissed off back to back deliveries, allowing Peshawar Zalmi to have a sniff at what was going to be an unbelievable turnaround.
Azam Khan seamlessly cruised to 75, hitting six boundaries and as many sixes in the process. However, Naveen-ul-Haq got the better of him on the last ball of his spell. Colin Munro, who had faced more than 50 deliveries at that point, was dismissed on the first ball of the next over.
Both set batters departed in very quick succession and Peshawar Zalmi grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
21 off 11 was still very gettable when Colin Munro was dismissed, but having played a sensible knock up until then, maybe he could have looked to take it as deep as possible.