KARACHI: Peshawar Zalmi thrashed defending champions Lahore Qalandars by 76 runs to register their fourth straight win in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 at the National Bank Stadium on Saturday.
Chasing a target of 174, Gullanders were bowled out for 97 in the 17th over as Zalmi’s bowling unit put on a dominant display.
In the third ball of the second over, Lahore got off to a poor start when paceman Shoriful Islam dismissed opener Mohammad Naeem in one of two deliveries.
Faqar Zaman and Abdullah Shafiq anchored the innings, both putting together an effective partnership and scoring at a good rate.
However, Nahid Rana smashed Shafiq’s 21 off 15 balls, including 4 fours, to smash 39 runs.
Fakhar was the next to depart as he was dismissed by Michael Bracewell in the third ball of the seventh over after scoring 21 runs off 19 balls, including 3 fours.
Haseebullah and Asif Ali soon followed and fell to Bracewell and Subian Mukeem respectively. Haseebullah scored just 3 runs off 8 balls while Asif was dismissed as Lahore were reduced to 56-5 in 9.2 overs.
As the wickets continued to fall, the pressure mounted and Sikandar Raza became the next batsman. He scored 14 runs off 13 balls, including 2 fours, as Bracewell claimed his third wicket.
Sufyan Mukeem again dismissed Shaheen Afridi for 5 off seven balls as the Qalandars struggled to 67-7 in 11.4 overs.
Lahore’s woes deepened as Nahid Rana returned to claim his second wicket and dismissed Usama Mira for just one run as the slump continued.
The Qalandars were nine down when Sufiyan struck again, including a boundary off six balls to dismiss Ubaid Shah for four, while Vellalake was dismissed by Amar Jamal after making 20.
Michael Bracewell and Subian Mukeem took three wickets each. Nahid Rana took 2 wickets while Shoriful Islam and Amir Jamal took one wicket each.
Batting first, Zalmi made a promising start as openers Mohammed Harris and Babar Azam set the tone with a positive stroke play.
Haris provided the early momentum before Shaheen Afridi made the breakthrough with the first ball of his second over, taking him to 18 off 10 balls, with two fours and a six in an innings.
Babar then teamed up with Gusal Mendis to rebuild the innings and the pair put together a composed and impactful partnership. Their position saw Zalmi easily cross the 50 mark and steadily turned in their favour.
Mendis was in great touch, controlling the Qalandars’ attack and scoring a subsequent PSL 11 half-century. At the other end, Babur anchored the innings with maturity and steered the partnership past the 100-run milestone.
The duo’s stand of 109 demonstrated control, timing and composure under pressure.
The partnership was broken when Usama Mir dismissed Babar for 43 off 40 balls, including 3 fours and a six, before Zalmi was dismissed for 127-2 in 15.2 overs.
Michael Bracewell added valuable runs to pass the total of 150, but Shaheen Afridi made a 48-ball 74 with 5 fours and 4 sixes to dismiss Mendis.
Reduced to 153-4 in 17.3 overs, Abdul Samad was dismissed for two runs and halted Ubaid Shah Zalmi’s progress.
The late blows continued as Mustafizur Rahman accounted for Bracewell’s 21 off 10 balls with a four and two sixes. Shaheen Afridi picked up his third wicket again in the last over, dismissing youngster Farhan Yousuf for two runs.
With 173-7 at the end of 20 overs, Zalmi’s innings ended unbeaten with Iftikhar Ahmed on 7 and Subian Mukeem on one.
In reply, Zalmi captain Shaheen Afridi led the way with the ball, returning impressive figures of 3/22 from four overs. Mustafizur Rahman took 2 wickets and Ubaid Shah and Usama Mir took one wicket each.