KARACHI: Gusal Mendis’ magnificent half-century and Sufyan Muqeem’s three wickets helped Peshawar Zalmi beat Multan Sultans by 24 runs in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 match 22.
Chasing a tough target of 197 runs, Sultans could only muster 172/8 in their 20 overs, suffering their second defeat in the ongoing eight-team tournament.
The 2021 champions got off to a poor start to the chase as they lost in-form Sahibzada Farhan (17) in the third over with 30 runs to spare.
After stumbling early on, Steve Smith and Josh Phillip forced a Sultans’ recovery as they stitched together a 55-run partnership before Sufyan Muqeem dismissed both set batters in the 10th over.
Phillip scored 32 off 17 balls with 6 fours while Smith scored 31 off 29 balls.
Vice-captain Shaun Masood then took control of Sultans’ chase, sharing crucial partnerships with skipper Ashton Turner (20) and Arafat Minhas, before being dismissed by Iftikhar Ahmed in the 16th over.
Masood top scored for Sultans with 35 off 19 balls with 5 fours.
The Sultans suffered another setback in the next over as Minhas was sent back by Nahid Rana, who scored four runs off five balls.
Right-arm pacer Nahid Rana caught Mohammad Wasim Jr (four) behind and conceded just two runs in the last over to deal another blow to Sultans’ campaign.
Nawaz, on the other hand, was dismissed by Amir Jamal in the third ball of the final over and went back after scoring 16 off one ball.
Jamal conceded just two runs off the last three balls and took Zalmi to their fifth win in six games.
Mukeem led the bowling charge for Zalmi with economy figures of 3/30 from his four overs. He was supported by fellow spinners Iftikhar and Rana with two wickets each and Jamal with a scalp.
Sultans skipper Ashton Turner’s decision came first as the leaders amassed 196/6 in 20 overs.
Zalmi gave their innings a flying start as their opening pair of Mohammad Harris and Babar Azam put on a blistering 48 runs.
Haris, who dominated the opening position, was dismissed by Peter Siddle in the fifth over and smashed 38 off 17 balls with 4 sixes and 3 fours.
Babar then shared a 24-run partnership for the second wicket with Gusal Mendis, who was the victim of Mohammad Nawaz in the eighth over, then scored 18 runs off 20 balls with the help of a six.
Mendis then joined emerging batsman Farhan Yousuf and the duo dominated the crucial middle stage to add 63 runs off just 38 balls, with Mohammad Wasim Jr giving Sultans a much-needed breakthrough in the 15th over, the latter hitting 30 off 22 balls with 3 sixes.
Wicketkeeper Batter then put on a 34-run partnership with Michael Bracewell (14) for the fourth wicket before both were sent back by Mohammed Ismail in the 18th over.
Kusal Mendis was Zalmi’s top scorer with a 40-ball 68 with 4 fours and 3 sixes.
Following his exit, middle-order batsman Iftikhar Ahmed added valuable runs to Zalmi’s total at the back with a five-ball 11-run cameo before falling to Siddle in the final over.
Siddle and Ismail took two wickets each while Nawaz and Wasim Jr took one wicket each for Sultans.