Monitoring Desk
RAWALPINDI: Peshawar Zalmi secured a comfortable 76-run victory over Quetta Gladiators in the 25th match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9 at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday.
Zalmi outclassed their counterparts in all departments of the game as the Gladiators suffered a heavy margin defeat, which considerably affected their net run rate (NRR).
However, the Gladiators can simply make their way to the PSL 9 playoffs just by winning one of their remaining two matches, against Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans.
Chasing the target of 197, Gladiators’ opener Saud Shakeel started brilliantly with the left-handed batter scoring a quick 24 off 12 before losing his wicket to Mehran Mumtaz.
Soon after Saud’s departure, problems started for the chasing side as they ended up losing three wickets in the next four overs.
None of Rilee Rossouw (8), Khawaja Nafay (5) and Omair Yousuf (10) could perform as the wickets kept falling and the Gladiators could only score 120 runs in 17.5 overs before losing all of their wickets.
Saim Ayub, Luke Wood, Khurram Shahzad and Mumtaz starred with the ball, taking two wickets each while, Naveen-ul-Haq and Aamer Jamal picked one.
Earlier, despite of Akeal Hosein’s hat-trick, Peshawar Zalmi succeeded in setting a target of 197 runs for Quetta Gladiators.
Put into bat first, Peshawar Zalmi registered a formidable total on the board, courtesy of Babar Azam’s half-century.
Openers Saim Ayub and Babar Azam once again provided Zalmi a decent start to the innings as the in-form duo notched up a quickfire 46-run stand which lasted with the former’s dismissal in the fourth over.
Ayub smashed one boundary and three sixes on his way to a 12-ball 30.
Mohammad Haris then partnered briefly with Babar for a 47-run partnership before a direct hit from Gladiators’ skipper Rilee Rossouw brought curtains on his knock in the eighth over. He scored 20 off 13 deliveries, hitting one boundary and a six.
Zalmi then lost another wicket when Haseebullah Khan (six) was cleaned up by Abrar Ahmed on the first delivery of the 10th over.
Their mainstay with the bat Babar Azam soon perished when he was trapped lbw by Akeal Hosein in the 13th over after scoring 53 off 30 deliveries, laced with nine boundaries and a six.
He was quickly followed by Tom Kohler Cadmore in the next over, who fell prey to Mohammad Hasnain after scoring a brisk 33. His 19-ball knock featured four boundaries and a six.
Akeal Hosein put Quetta Gladiators in control in the 16th over when he dismantled Peshawar Zalmi’s lower middle-order with a hat-trick, removing Aamer Jamal (5), Mehran Mumtaz (0) and Luke Wood (0).
Hosein’s hat-trick, the first of PSL 9, halted Peshawar Zalmi to a mammoth total but Rovman Powell gave it a late push with an undefeated 39-run partnership with Naveen-ul-Haq, who scored a sensible 10 off nine deliveries.
Powell struck four boundaries on his way to a 25-ball 28.
Akeal Hosein led the Gladiators’ bowling attack with 4/23 while Hasnain, Abrar and Sohail Khan picked one wicket apiece.
