KARACHI: In a thrilling match, Islamabad United emerged victorious over Peshawar Zalmi in the Eliminator 2 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9 in Karachi. Haider Ali and Imad Wasim’s unbeaten 98-run partnership was the driving force behind Islamabad United’s hard-fought win.
Having successfully chased down a target of 186, Islamabad United’s impressive performance has earned them a spot in the PSL 9 final against Multan Sultans, set to take place at the same venue on Monday.
The chase didn’t start smoothly for United as they lost three wickets in the initial four overs with just 21 runs on the scoreboard. However, Martin Guptill’s brief resistance, including a remarkable 22-run over against Saim Ayub, added some stability before he was dismissed by Khurram Shehzad at the end of the batting powerplay, contributing 34 runs off 21 balls.
At 50/4 in six overs, Azam Khan partnered with Imad Wasim to rebuild the innings. They cautiously added runs for about five overs until Azam’s dismissal by Luke Wood in the 11th over. With half their side back in the pavilion, United faced a challenging task of scoring 95 runs from 54 deliveries.
Haider Ali then took charge and played aggressively, hitting boundaries and sixes to ease the pressure off Imad, who also started scoring freely. The duo dominated the Zalmi bowlers in the latter overs, both reaching half-centuries before Imad’s boundary off Wood sealed United’s place in the PSL 9 final.
Imad Wasim top-scored for United with an unbeaten 59 off 40 balls, including nine boundaries, while Haider Ali scored a rapid 52 off 29 balls with two boundaries and five sixes.
Saim Ayub was the pick of the bowlers for Peshawar Zalmi with figures of 2/34, supported by Wood, Mehran Mumtaz, and Shehzad, who claimed one wicket each.
Choosing to bat first, Peshawar Zalmi made a strong start to their innings with their well-performing opening duo of Babar Azam and Saim setting a solid foundation for a competitive total.
Saim took charge early in the innings, while Babar played a cautious innings until he was dismissed by Naseem Shah with the score at 72 runs. Babar attempted a big shot off a length delivery from Naseem but ended up mistiming it, leading to a spectacular catch by Shadab Khan. Babar contributed 25 runs off 22 balls, including two boundaries and a six.
Following Babar’s departure, Haris joined Saim in the middle, and the pair continued to build on the momentum with a 59-run partnership before Saim was eventually dismissed in the 15th over. Saim Ayub was the top-scorer for Peshawar Zalmi, scoring 73 off 44 balls with six boundaries and four sixes.
Haris followed suit in the next over, getting out softly against Naseem after a quick innings of 40 runs off 25 balls, featuring three boundaries and two sixes.
Later in the innings, contributions from Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Aamer Jamal propelled Zalmi’s total beyond the 180-run mark.
Naseem Shah led the bowling attack for Islamabad United with figures of 3/30 in his four overs, while Shadab Khan and Obed McCoy also chipped in with a wicket each.
The winner of the Eliminator 2 will advance to face the 2021 champions Multan Sultans in the PSL 9 final, which is set to take place on Monday at the same venue.
