Peshawar Zalmi defeated Multan Sultans by five runs in a dramatic Pakistan Super League (PSL) Season 9 match on Friday at the Multan Cricket Ground.
The intense match ended in the last over when Sultans’ power hitter Iftikhar Ahmed failed to take his side over the line while facing Zalmi’s Naveen-ul-Haq.
Chasing the 180-run target, Sultans suffered an early setback when their captain Mohammad Rizwan lost his wicket to Luke Wood in the second over.
After Rizwan’s dismissal, Yasir Khan continued to charge Zalmi’s bowlers but the right-hander failed to accelerate the innings and lost his wicket after scoring 43 runs.
Playing as an opener, Dawood Malan came in at no. 4 and instantly changed the game for his team with his attacking prowess.
The left-handed batsman scored 52 runs off just 25 balls with six fours. After Milan’s wicket, the Sultans could not keep their wickets.
It looked like the match would take a dramatic turn when Usama Mir came into bat and hit two sixes off two balls. However, he lost his wicket on the third ball trying to hit another six.
Peshawar Zalmi finally won a match in PSL 9
Sultans had hope till the last over as Iftikhar Ahmed was at the crease but Naveen managed to trap the right-hander when the Blues needed just six runs from two balls. Iftikhar was followed by Dharmiri but was bowled on the last ball of the match and Peshawar Zalmi finally won a match in PSL 9.
Batting first, Peshawar Zalmi didn’t get off to a great start as star opener Saeem Ayub departed for the pavilion after scoring just 7 runs when he fell to Shahnawaz Dhirman in the fourth over.
However, after losing the first wicket, another youngster Haseebullah Khan came in to bat and provided Zalmi with the much-needed spark as he started his innings by taking Sultans’ Iftikhar Ahmed to the cleaners.
The left-hander scored 37 off just 18 balls but failed to hold his own against Usama Mir, who had also dismissed Babar Azam in his previous over.
After Haseebullah’s dismissal, Paul Walter played a brisk innings of 16 off 8 balls but had to return to the pavilion after losing his wicket to David Willey.
While Mohammad Haris failed to accelerate the innings, Rowman Powell played an important innings, scoring 21 off 11 balls with four fours before losing his wicket to Willy.
Wickets continued to fall and Peshawar Zalmi ended his innings on 179-8 in the allotted overs.
Wali, Muhammad Ali, and Osama Mir took two wickets each while Durham and Abbas Afridi took one wicket each.
