LAHORE: Peshawar Zalmi went unbeaten for their eighth straight win in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 with a 7-wicket victory over Karachi Kings at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday.
Chasing 183 runs, Zalmi reached the target for the loss of 3 wickets in 18.5 overs thanks to a brilliant delivery by Gusal Mendis and Farhan Yousuf.
With openers James Vince and skipper Babar Azam providing a solid foundation, the chase began confidently, scoring runs freely and setting the tone with a fluent partnership.
However, Hasan Ali scored 16 runs off 10 balls with 2 fours and a six, dismissing Vince and ending his opening stand of 37 runs.
Zalmi lost his second wicket in the powerplay as Abbas Afridi dismissed Babar Azam for 25 off 19 balls with four fours and a six to leave the side 45-2 in 5.2 overs.
Mendis continued to score at a strong pace as he brought up his fourth PSL half-century.
Peshawar slumped to 95-3 when Aaron Hardy was dismissed cheaply by Khushtil Shah for 5 off 6 balls.
Mendis found solid support from Farhan Yousuf as the duo rebuilt the innings with a 50-run partnership, guiding Zalmi to a commanding position.
Yusuf then switched gears and hit boundaries at will as Zalmi crossed the 150 mark with ease.
He eventually ended the chase with a boundary to bring up his maiden PSL half-century.
Farhan Yousuf was unbeaten on 54 off 35 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes and Gusal Mendis scored 80 off 43 balls with 5 fours and 4 sixes.
Batting first, the Kings scored 182-9 in the allotted 20 overs thanks to strong batting from Jason Roy and Azam Khan.
The team got off to a steady start as openers David Warner and Jason Roy looked for a strong foundation and piled on the runs in the early overs.
However, Ali Raza struck first, dismissing Warner for 11 off 13 balls to break a 35-run partnership.
Salman Ali Agha then joined Roy to add valuable runs, while Roy continued to find boundaries as Kings cruised past 50 with ease.
Aaron Hardy dismissed Salman Ali Agha for 12 runs off nine balls, including two fours, as Karachi were reduced to 71-2 in 7.4 overs.
Roy was in great touch, moving the scoreboard to bring up his ninth PSL half-century.
He was well supported by Reza Hendricks as the pair built a fruitful partnership. However, Sufyan Mukeem dismissed Hendricks for 13 off 16 balls as Karachi posted 98-3 in 12.3 overs.
Azam Khan then added quick runs with aggressive stroke play along with Roy to help Karachi cross the 100 mark. The duo combined for 63 runs to put up a total of 150 runs as Kings pushed for a strong finish.
In the end, Assam were dismissed at 161-4 in 17.5 overs by Iftikhar Ahmed, who scored 35 runs off 19 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes.
Jason Roy followed up with a 51-ball 85, including 11 fours and 2 sixes, before falling to Mohammad Basith.
In the last over, Ali Raza returned to complete a remarkable spell. He conceded 13 runs and was caught run-out by Abbas Afridi (6 off 3 balls), while Khushdil Shah was hit-wicket off the next ball for 12 runs.
Raza then produced a sharp yorker to pick up his third wicket, dismissing Shahid Aziz before ducking Hasan Ali off the first ball off the final delivery of the innings to complete his hat-trick.