In the first eliminator match of Pakistan Super League (PSL), Islamabad United defeated Peshawar Zalmi by 5 wickets and knocked them out of the event.
In the match being played at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore, Peshawar Zalmi’s captain Wahab Riaz decided to bat first after winning the toss. In the allotted 20 overs, Zalmi had scored 169 runs for the loss of 5 wickets.
For Peshawar Zalmai, openers Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Haris provided an aggressive start, but the young Haris lost wickets on a collection of 30. Veteran Kamran played an innings of 58 off 39 balls.
In the middle order, Shoaib Malik and Hussain Talat from Peshawar Zalmai led the team and formed a partnership of 56 runs, both scoring 55 and 28 runs respectively.
For Islamabad United, Hassan Ali took three wickets while Liam Dawson and Shadab Khan took one wicket each.
Squad Islamabad United
Captain Shadab Khan, Alex Hales, Will Jack, Asif Ali, Azam Khan, Fahim Ashraf, Hassan Ali, Athar Mahmood, Zahid Mahmood and Waqas Maqsood.
Squad Peshawar Zalmi
Captain Wahab Riaz, Benny Howell, Kamran Akmal, Muhammad Haris, Shoaib Malik, Hussain Talat, Haider Ali, Khalid Usman, Salman Irshad, Yasir Khan and Ali Majid.
Both the teams have competed against each other 18 times, in which Peshawar Zalmi has the lead. They have won 9 matches while 8 victories have been in the name of Islamabad United and one match was a draw.
It is to be noted that Islamabad United captain Shadab Khan was suffering from groin injury and in his absence vice-captain Asif Ali took over the captaincy duties while fast bowlers Hassan Ali and Faheem Ashraf also returned in this match due to fitness issues. They were far away