Published: Feb 26, 2017, 02:58 AM (IST)
Edited: Feb 26, 2017, 03:08 AM (IST)
In Match No. 19 of the second edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL), Peshawar Zalmi beat Quetta Gladiators by two wickets in last-over finish on Saturday. Shahid Afridi played a gem of an innings as his unbeaten 45 off 23 balls steered the Peshawar side home with 4 balls to spare. Afridi blasted 3 sixes and as many fours in his innings as his side recovered from a precarious 52 for 6 to reach the target of 129 in the last over. Needing 7 off the last over, Afridi hit Mahmudullah for two fours off first two balls to seal the victory. With this win, Peshawar climbed to the top of the points table. PSL 2017: Points table & team standings
Small targets are often trickier to chase, and it was evident once again on Saturday. Chasing a modest 129, Peshawar Zalmi had a good start as Tamim Iqbal and Kamran Akmal added 38 for the first wicket. But from 38 for 1, they were soon 52 for 6, floundering after losing their top and middle order in quick succession. Afridi, then took Mohammad Hafeez along with him and added vital 37 runs with him down the order for the seventh wicket. Once Hafeez was dismissed, Afridi kept going and ensured his side’s win. Live Cricket Updates, Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators at Dubai
Tymal Mills and Mahmudullah took 3 wickets each, but the duo could not thwart a Peshawar victory.
Earlier, batting first, Quetta Gladiators were bowled out for 128 runs with Kevin Pietersen scoring 41 and Rilee Rossouw adding 38 runs to the scoreboard. Quetta also witnessed a similar collapse like Peshawar, as after being 98 for 3 from 15 overs at one stage, they imploded and lost their last 7 wickets for just 30 runs. While Peshawar fielded an unchanged playing XI, Quetta made two changes, dropping Thisara Perera and Anwar Ali for Mills and Umar Gul. To everyone’s surprise, Gul was not used at all in the match.
It was Quetta’s third game in a row, and their players looked jaded. After losing a 1-run thriller to Islamabad on Friday, it looked like the team had lost their steam. Their batsmen failed again on a pitch which was assisting spinners. Barring Pietersen and Rossouw, only Mohammad Nawaz could manage to get into the double digits, scoring 18. Young Peshawar spinner Mohammad Asghar, who was the pick of the bowlers (3 for 33) for Peshawar, was adjudged the Man of the Match ahead of Afridi.
Brief scores:
Quetta Gladiators 128 all out in 20 overs (Kevin Pietersen 41, Rilee Rossouw 38; Mohammad Asghar 3 for 33, Wahab Riaz 2 for 17, Hasan Ali 2 for 22) lost to Peshawar Zalmi 130 for 8 in 19.2 overs (Shahid Afridi 45*, Kamran Akmal 26; Tymal Mills 3 for 20, Mahmudullah 3 for 31) by 2 wickets.
