Peshawar Zalmi bowlers held their nerves to beat table-toppers Multan Sultans by five runs in a nail-biting thriller at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Needing 22 runs in the last over, Sultans could only manage 16 runs as pacer Naveen ul Haq took two wickets on the last two balls despite conceding 16 runs on the first four, handing the hosts their first defeat of the season.

After deciding to bat first on a tricky wicket, Peshawar Zalmi got off to a sluggish start but slowly gathered pace with a 46-run partnership between Babar Azam (31) and Haseebullah Khan (37) for the second wicket.

Rovmen Powell (23 runs off 11 deliveries), Mohammad Haris (run-a-ball 19), and Luke Wood (17 off 12) at the backend helped Zalmi finish with 179/8 on the board.

For Multan, David Willey, Mohammad Ali and Usama Ali grabbed two wickets apiece.

Multan Sultans’ start was no different, managing only 7 runs in the first 2.3 overs. However, Yasir Khan’s 43 runs and Dawid Malan’s 25-ball 52 put the inning back on track.

Usama Mir (13) and Abbas Afridi (11) flared briefly. Iftikhar Ahmed stood his ground, scoring 14 runs in the last over, but in vain, as Zalmi managed a much-needed win in the end.

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Points Table Update

Despite the loss, Multan Sultans hold their berth at the top of the table with 6 points. Quetta Gladiators perch second in the table with as many points. Islamabad United and Karachi Kings remain third and fourth on the points table with two points each, while Peshawar Zalmi and Lahore Qalandars are in the 5th and 6th places.

Next Fixtures

Fans will witness the much-awaited contest between arch-rivals Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars on Saturday. The game will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, at 7 pm.

Past PSL Winners

• PSL 2016 – Islamabad United

• PSL 2017 – Peshawar Zalmi

• PSL 2018 – Islamabad United

• PSL 2019 – Quetta Gladiators

• PSL 2020 – Karachi Kings

• PSL 2021 – Multan Sultans

• PSL 2022 - Lahore Qalandars

• PSL 2023 - Lahore Qalandars