KARACHI (Monitoring Desk): A combined bowling effort, followed by Yasir Khan’s blistering half-century powered Multan Sultans to beat Peshawar Zalmi by seven wickets and qualify for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final.
Opting to bat first, Zalmi only managed a subpar total on the board despite Babar Azam’s anchoring knock.
Zalmi had a dismal start to their innings as they lost their in-form opener Saim Ayub (1) in the first over with just four runs on the board.
Following the early debacle, Mohammad Haris joined Babar in the middle and put together an anchoring 46-run partnership for the second wicket before falling victim to Mohammad Ali in the sixth over.
Zalmi then sustained another blow to their batting charge when Usama Mir got rid of Haseebullah Khan (3) in the eighth over.
Meanwhile, Babar Azam stood his ground firm and kept the scoreboard ticking until Chris Jordan cleaned him up with a well-crafted yorker in the 14th over.
He remained the top-scorer for Peshawar Zalmi with 46 off 42 deliveries, laced up with five boundaries.
Following his departure, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (24) and Rovman Powell (12) made notable contributions before Paul Walter and Luke Wood offered late fireworks.
Walter (12) and Wood added an unbeaten 15 for the eighth wicket, lifting Zalmi to go past the 140-run mark.
Wood was the core aggressor of the stand with his brisk 14-run cameo which came off just seven deliveries and featured one boundary and a six.
Usama Mir, the leading wicket-taker of the PSL 9, and Chris Jordan led the bowling attack for Multan Sultans with two wickets each while David Wiley, Mohammad Ali and Abbas Afridi struck out a batter apiece.
