KARACHI: Peshawar Zalmi fought back to beat Hyderabad Kingsmen by four wickets to register their second win in the 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL 11) at the National Bank Stadium on Wednesday.
With solid contributions from captain Babar Azam and Gusal Mendis, Zalmi chased down the target of 146 with ease, losing 6 wickets in the final over.
Opener Mohammad Haris fell for 11 runs off six balls, including a four and a six, as they chased down the team at 17-1 in 1.5 overs.
Babur and Mendis then stabilized the innings, building a crucial partnership and laying the foundations for the team to chase past 50 runs.
However, the 49-run stand was broken when Mendis was dismissed for 27 off 23 balls, including a four and two sixes, by Saim Ayub.
Michael Bracewell joined Baber at the crease and the duo clattered the scoreboard, putting together a valuable partnership that saw the total cross the 100-run mark.
Saim again pushed for his second wicket, sending Bracewell off 25 runs off 19 balls with two fours and a six, finishing on 38 and reducing Zalmi to 104-3 in 13.4 overs.
Babar Azam was dismissed on the final delivery of the 15th over after Hasan Khan scored 43 runs off 37 balls with 6 boundaries.
Zalmi came under pressure when Mohammad Ali dismissed Farhan Yousaf for 15 off 13 balls, including 2 fours, followed by Hunain Shah’s dismissal of Abdul Samad for one run.
With 14 runs needed off the final over, Hunain Shah conceded the remaining runs, Iftikhar Ahmed finished unbeaten on 15 runs off 10 balls, including a four and a six, while Amir Jamal took six to ensure victory.
Batting first, Kingsmen were bowled out for 145 runs in 18.2 overs. The innings got off to a promising start as openers Mas Sadaq and Saim Ayub added valuable runs early on.
However, the opening stand of 26 was broken in the third over when Iftikhar Ahmed smashed a century of 17 off eight balls that included 3 fours.
Iftikhar struck again in his second over, removing two established batters. Saim Ayub fell for 14 off 15 balls with 2 boundaries, followed by Usman Khan’s duck out as Hyderabad struggled to 33-3 in 4.3 overs.
Iftikhar picked up another wicket and piled the pressure on the Kingsmen by clean bowling Sharjeel Khan in two off five balls.
Captain Marnus Labuschagne and Gusal Perera combined the innings steadily to form a crucial 50-run partnership that helped Hyderabad cross the 50-run mark.
Both batted brilliantly as the partnership crossed the 100-run mark, with Sufyan Mukeem dismissing Labuschagne for 27 in a run that included 3 fours in one ball as the team were bowled out for 116-5 in 14.1 overs.
Perera shone with the bat, bringing up his third PSL half-century with good pace and an impactful innings. However, Mokeem struck back in the closing stages and decimated the Kingsmen’s bottom line.
In his last over, he dismissed Irfan Khan Niazi for 9, Gusal Perera for 58 off 35 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes and finally ducked Mahesh Dikshana.
Hunain Shah was the ninth Kingsman wicket when Farhan Yousuf was run out straight without facing the delivery, while Hasan Khan was dismissed last out by Amir Jamal on nine.
Iftikhar Ahmed and Sufyan Mukeem were Zalmi’s best bowlers, sharing eight wickets between them. Iftikhar claimed 4/21 in his four overs while Sufyan took 4/32 in his four over spell. Amir Jamal also took a wicket.