Peshawar Zalmi successfully defended their total of 183 against Islamabad United in Eliminator 1 of the HBL Pakistan Super League 8 at the Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday. Salman Irshad and Aamir Jamal’s brilliant spells of pace bowling in the middle and death overs derailed Islamabad United’s run chase, ending their journey in the tournament. Peshawar Zalmi will now face Lahore Qalandars in Eliminator 2 tomorrow.
Despite half-centuries from Sohaib Maqsood and Alex Hales, Islamabad United lost momentum in the middle overs due to Salman’s incredible use of variations, returning with an economical two for 18 from four overs and Aamir’s near perfect reverse-swing, taking two for 36.
The match turned in Peshawar Zalmi’s favour at the start of the 15th over, when Aamir bowled Sohaib, bringing an end to their 115-run stand. Salman then cleaned up Azam Khan in the next over, and Aamir bowled Hales with a perfect yorker at the start of the 17th. Islamabad United lost four wickets for 14 runs in the next three balls, making it challenging for them to chase the target.
Colin Munro and Shadab Khan tried to revive the chase, but when Munro played on Salman’s deceptive cutter, Islamabad United lost their hope. Aamir was left with 24 to defend in the last over, and he did so comfortably, securing a 12-run win for his side.
Earlier, Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam scored a sparkling 64 off 39 balls, including 10 fours, after his side was put in to bat. This was Babar’s fifth half-century of the current edition. He stitched strong partnerships worth 60 off 28 balls with Saim Ayub, 36 off 24 balls with Haseebullah, and 41 off 26 with Mohammad Haris to set a platform for the middle-order batters to score big.
Islamabad United’s Shadab Khan took two wickets, while Fazalhaq Farooqi, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, and Mohammad Wasim Jnr took a wicket each to bring their side back into the match.
Peshawar Zalmi will now face Lahore Qalandars in the Eliminator 2, and the winner will face Multan Sultans in the final on Saturday. Aamir Jamal was named the player of the match for his crucial two wickets in the middle overs.
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