Azam Khan’s 85 went in vain as Peshawar Zalmi outclassed Islamabad United by 11 runs in a high-scoring clash to move up to the third spot on the PSL 2022 Points Table.
PSL 2022, ISL vs PES
A power-pack 32 ball 70 from Mohammad Haris along with vital contributions from Shoaib Malik and Yasir Khan, powered Zalmi to 206/8.
In the chase of 206 runs, Azam Khan’s 45 ball knock comprising six fours & seven sixes & Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 46 off 19 comprising 4 fours & 5 sixes kept United in the game. But the fall of Azam Khan’s wicket succumbed all their hopes of winning as their innings were wrapped for 196/7, falling 11 runs short of the target. United got off to a good start in their chase of 206 runs thanks to Gurbaz who struck five sixes & three fours inside the powerplay overs. Peshawar Zalmi’s decision to start their bowling attack with Liam Livingstone & Usman Qadir didn’t turn out to be fruitful. Livingstone was smashed for two sixes by Gurbaz who amassed 22 runs off Qadir’s over. Gurbaz’s heroics with the bat helped United to reach fifty in three overs but Zalmi bowlers bounced back by scalping key wickets of Gurbaz & Danish Aziz.
However, Zalmi couldn’t stay long on momentum as Islamabad United grabbed it back through Azam’s prolific innings. Azam Khan received some support at the other end from Mubashir Khan in a 34 run stand & Azam Khan went on to bring up a 26 ball fifty in the 12th over which included three sixes off Usman Qadir’s delivery. The equation came to 52 off 30 balls as Azam Khan continued hitting sixes. Heading strong at one end Azam Khan was losing partners at the other hand as Asif Ali and Faheem Ashraf fell to Salman Irshad, who finished with 3-29 from his four overs. Peshawar Zalmi was under pressure as Azam Khan was hitting maximums off every bowler’s delivery. But soon Zalmi got their much-needed breakthrough when Azam Khan got caught at long-on off Wahab Riaz’s delivery. There was not much of a fight after that as United fell short by 11 runs.
Earlier opting to bat first, Haris’s spell-bounding performance got the better off Islamabad’s bowlers. He scored 56 of the 73 runs that came in the opening stand to set a great platform for Zalmi. After smashing a huge six in the opening over off Faheem Ashraf’s delivery, Haris toyed with Muhammad Musa in the second over, hitting one six & four fours. Haris hit two more maximums to bring up an 18-ball fifty inside the powerplay overs. Hazratullah Zazai also struck a couple of fours before he fell in the final over of the powerplay to Liam Dawson reducing Zalmi to 74/1.
The boundary hitting continued as Yasir Khan came on the crease & struck two sixes alongside a four off Zahir Khan in the seventh over. Mohammad Haris registered a six & a boundary before his gritty knock came to an end in the 10th over when he tried to hit a rever scoop shot off Waqas Maqsood’s delivery. Zalmi were 116/2 at the halfway stage of their innings and the United were marginally better with the ball in the second half. United bowlers did their job by scalping wickets at regular intervals but handy knocks from Malik, Yasir, and Sherfane Rutherford helped Peshawar’s to finish with a 200-plus total.
PSL 2022, ISL vs PES: Brief Scores
Peshawar Zalmi 206 for 8 (Haris 70, Malik 38, Ashraf 3-33) beat Islamabad United 196 for 7 (Azam 85, Gurbaz 46, Irshad 3-29) by 11 runs