LAHORE: The 15th March Qualifier will be a repeat of the HBL-PSL-7 final between Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans after Peshawar Zalmi overcame Islamabad United by 13 runs in a thrilling 29th match of the HBL- PSL-8 on Sunday.
Peshawar Zalmi suffered a middle-order collapse to stutter to 179 for eight and then overcame Faheem Ashraf’s late charge to dismiss Islamabad for 166 in 19.4 overs.
The result meant Islamabad United and Multan Sultans finished their league matches on 12 points each. However, Multan Sultans were placed second and Islamabad United third on net run-rate, meaning Multan Sultans will meet table-toppers and defending champions Lahore Qalandars on 15th March in the Qualifier and Islamabad United will again take on fourth-placed Peshawar Zalmi in Eliminator-1 on 16th March.
The winner of the 15th March Qualifier will progress to the 19th March final, while the losing side will have another opportunity to earn a place in the final when they will take on the winner of the 16th March Eliminator 1 in Eliminator- 2 on 17th March.
After Islamabad United’s top and middle-order made a mess of a straightforward run-chase by slipping from 65 for three to 111 for eight, No.8 batter Faheem Ashraf came to the party and slapped four sixes and two fours in a 13-ball 38 to give his side some hope. In association with Mohammad Wasim (14 not out), the left-hander added 55 runs from 24 balls for the ninth wicket.
With 21 runs required in the final over, Faheem struck a six off the second ball to bring the target down to 14 from four balls. However, Khurram Shahzad castled Faheem and Fazalhaq Farooqi off successive deliveries to seal a memorable win for Peshawar Zalmi, who in the previous two matches had failed to defend totals of 240 and 242.
While Khurram finished with figures of three for 13 in 10 balls, spinner Sufiyan Muqeem caused the middle-order collapse by accounting for Shadab Khan (25), Asif Ali (5) and Hasan Ali (0) to finish with figures of three for 37.
Jimmy Neesham picked up the prized scalps of middle-order batters Rahmanullah Gurbaz (33) and Colin Munro (15) to end with two for 23, while Aamer Jamal scooped the wickets of top-order batters Alex Hales and Sohaib Maqsood (15 each) to finish with two for 28.
Earlier, Mohammad Haris and Bhanuka Rajapaksa put on 115 runs in 58 balls for the second wicket to put Peshawar Zalmi on course for another colossal total when they took their side to 116 for the loss of Saim Ayub (0) at the halfway stage.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023