Peshawar Zalmi emerged victorious against Multan Sultans by a margin of 4 runs in the 21st match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9, held at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bat first. Opening alongside young Saim Ayub, Babar faced the new ball bowled by Mohammad Ali.
Saim initiated with a six on the third delivery, exploiting Ali’s poor delivery. Babar and Saim followed up with consecutive boundaries in the fourth over, undermining Ali’s confidence.
Zalmi reached their half-century in 23 balls, with both openers displaying threatening form. The powerplay concluded with PZ at 71/0, Saim at 34 and Babar at 33.
Saim’s aggressive play against Usama Mir in the 7th over propelled PZ to a flying start post-powerplay, but his dismissal for 46 ensued following a successful review by MS.
Runs were hard to come by, leading to Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s departure for 5 runs in the 9th over. PZ stood at 100/2 at the halfway mark, with Babar on 39*.
Zalmi’s captain achieved his 85th T20 half-century in the 14th over, with his partnership alongside Haseebullah Khan progressing. Babar departed for 64 in the 15th over, bowled by Mir.
The 15th over concluded with PZ at 150/3. Haseebullah fell in the 17th over, bowled by Chris Jordan, after contributing 31 runs.
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Asif Ali departed for 11 in the 19th over. The innings concluded with power-hitting from Rovman Powell and Aamer Jamal, reaching 204/5.
Usama Mir proved to be the most effective bowler with figures of 4-0-32-3.
Chasing 205 runs from 120 balls, Mohammad Rizwan and Reeza Hendricks opened for Multan Sultans against Saim Ayub’s bowling. Rizwan started with a six off the first ball, with MS at 14/0 after the first over.
Debutant Mehran Mumtaz dismissed Reeza Hendricks in the 5th over, offering an economical spell during the powerplay. The powerplay ended with MS at 40/1, with Rizwan standing at 30*.
Aamer Jamal’s sharp fielding led to Rizwan’s dismissal for 32 in the 8th over. MS was at 73/2 after 10 overs, as Dawid Malan and Tayyab Tahir attempted to accelerate.
Aamer Jamal dismissed both batsmen in the 12th over, with Asif Ali taking a stunning catch to dismiss Malan, while Tayyab fell attempting a big shot. The 15th over ended with MS at 124/4.
Iftikhar Ahmed and Khushdil Shah tried to chase down the total, but Khushdil departed for 11 after a review. Iftikhar went on a rampage in the 18th over, hitting three sixes off Jamal. The innings concluded with Iftikhar at 60*, falling short by 4 runs of PZ’s total.
Babar Azam was awarded the Player of the Match for his 64-run innings.
