At Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Monday evening, Peshawar Zalmi defeated Islamabad United by eight runs to complete a hat-trick of victories in PSL 9. They managed to set a 202-run target courtesy of an undefeated century by captain Babar Azam and a five-for from leg-spinner Arif Yaqoob, which helped them restrict the United from chasing it down.
Pitch report and toss update
The playing surface at Gaddafi Stadium is known for being among the greatest for batting, providing ideal circumstances for batters to demonstrate their abilities. However, recent records show that bowlers may not receive much assistance from the pitch.
Even the best bowlers have to work hard on this pitch, frequently at the cost of giving up runs. So Islamabad United won the toss and elected to field first.
Saim and Babar got the Peshawar Zalmi off to a solid start
Babar Azam and Saim Ayub, the opening pair for Peshawar Zalmi, followed up their 136-run partnership from the previous game with a dominant opening partnership against Islamabad United, accumulating an undefeated 65 runs in the powerplay.
The first breakthrough for United came when Salman Ali Agha ended the opening stand at 77 runs in the eighth over by dismissing Saim. Following a strong start, Shadab bowled a double wicket over, cheaply dismissing both Mohammad Haris and Haseebullah, which put Peshawar into deep trouble.
With Paul Walter and Babar at the crease, Peshawar Zalmi was up 87-3 at the halfway point. Before Shadab ran out Walter at the non-striker’s end of the 14th over, they had contributed 34 runs between them to the total. On the final delivery of the 15th over, Rovman Powell was caught behind for a run-a-ball eight, with only one boundary off Naseem Shah.
Babar Azam increased the run flow to push Zalmi to a mammoth total
With two fours and an unbeaten 17 off nine, Asif Ali added to a sixth-wicket stand that produced an undefeated 77 from just 31 deliveries. With Babar in the attacking role, they helped Peshawar Zalmi reach 201-5 after 20 overs with his 59 off 22 balls.
Peshawar Zalmi scored 76 runs in the last five overs, with Babar hitting four boundaries and a six off the bowling of Hunain Shah in the 18th over, which went for 23 runs. After finishing the innings with an undefeated 111 off 63, Babar completed his 11th T20 century courtesy to an outstanding performance that included 14 boundaries and two maximums.
Babar also passed Rassie van der Dussen of Lahore as the current PSL 9 top-run scorer with his knock today. With two wickets at the cost of 28 runs in four overs, Shadab was Islamabad’s best bowler. Salman and Naseem each returned with a single wicket.
United lost wickets at regular intervals
Luke Wood removed opening batsman Jordan Cox after he could only muster 13 on 10 with one four. As the team attempted to reach a target of 202 runs, captain Shadab batted at number three. Before Saim caught him off Arif Yaqoob’s bowling, he could only make six out of eight.
In the tenth over, with Islamabad at 74-3 halfway through, Salman struck out direct to Haris off the bowling of Saim, taking the third wicket out of the innings.
The next batter in, Azam Khan, took over right away. In the eleventh over, he struck two sixes to Arif, setting the tone for the rest of his knock. Azam and Colin Munro, the opening batsman, stitched up a 108-run partnership for the fourth wicket, putting Islamabad within striking distance of the target.
Azam and Munro tried to chase the target but fell short
With a boundary against Salman Irshad in the 14th over, Munro reached his half-century. Azam followed in the 16th over, needing just 21 deliveries to reach his half-century.
Peshawar Zalmi’s breakthrough came when Naveen-ul-Haq dismissed Azam with the final ball of the 18th over. With just 30 balls, the wicketkeeper-batter walked back with an amazing 75, displaying six boundaries and an equal number of maximums.
With 21 runs needed, Arif bowled the penultimate over and changed the game’s trajectory by taking four wickets and conceding only two runs.
In addition to taking the first five wickets of the season, he became the first spinner in PSL history to take four wickets in an over.
Additionally, Saim, Wood, Naveen, and Salman each claimed a wicket for the Peshawar Zalmi.
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