Zalmi outnumbered Qalandars in a low scoring thriller

Peshawar Zalmi scored their second successive win in the HBL Pakistan Super League 2017 edition as they edged out Lahore Qalandars in a low scoring match played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Batting first, the Qalandars were rolled over for a 59 run total as the Zalmi bowlers made regular inroads into their batting line-up. After losing openers Jason Roy and Brendon McCullum cheaply the Qalandars failed to recover as the Zalmi bowlers tightened the noose around them.  Fakhar Zaman (33) and Mohammad Rizwan (11) were the only batsmen to reach double figures, Hassan Ali collected three wickets while Chris Jordan took two wickets in his 1.2 overs, Qalandars were rolled over in 10.2 overs.

In reply the Zalmis had a disastrous start too Mohammad Hafeez, Dawid Malan and Kamran Akmal fell cheaply. Eoin Morgan held the innings together with a steady 23 while Shahid Afridi contributed 13 runs. The wickets though kept tumbling and nine runs were needed when the seventh wicket (Sohaib Maqsood) fell.

Wahab Riaz and Chris Jordan kept their nerves together consuming 20 deliveries in collecting the last nine runs; the chase was completed on the last ball of the 17^th over as the Zalmi dugout breathed a sigh of relief.

Yasir Shah wrecked the Zalmi middle and lower order in an outstanding spell of leg spin bowling that yielded him figures of four for seven in his allotted quota of four overs, he was later adjudged man-of-the-match.

Qalandars total was the lowest in the HBL PSL history while the match aggregate was also the lowest ever.