Multan Sultans outclass Peshawar Zalmi to qualify for PSL 9 final
Mohammad Rizwan's side have secured spot in PSL final for fourth time in a row
Multan Sultans have defeated Peshawar Zalmi convincingly by seven wickets to qualify for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season nine final.
Mohammad Rizwan's side have secured spot in the PSL final for the fourth time in a row.
Babar Azam's Zalmi will have another chance on March 16 against either Islamabad United or Quetta Gladiators to qualify for the final.
Sultans dominated the chase courtesy of opener Yasir Khan. The right-hander converted the attention towards him in the presence of skipper Mohammad Rizwan, who was batting from the other end.
The emerging star put Zalmi on the backfoot with his blistering strokes. Rizwan looked off-colour and was the first man to depart for Sultans.
He opted to play a pull of a length delivery bowled by Aamer Jamal which went straight into the hands of Saim Ayub.
Meanwhile, Yasir reached his first PSL fifty. He was caught and bowled by Mehran Mumtaz in the 11th over.
The 22-year-old stroked seven fours and a six in his 37-ball 54.
In-form Usman Khan paired up with Johnson Charles and the duo added another 35 to the total. Charles (11) was undone by Salman Irshad's yorker but it didn't effect much to the chase as Iftikhar Ahmed stroked three fours in the same over.
The chase was completed in the 19th over. Usman remained not out on 28-ball 36 while Iftikhar played cameo of 22 in just eight balls.
Earlier, a combined bowling effort propelled Multan Sultans to restrict Peshawar Zalmi to 146/7.
Opting to bat first, Zalmi only managed a below-par total on the board despite Babar Azam’s anchoring innings.
Zalmi had a poor 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 setback, Mohammad Haris joined Babar in the middle and formed a stabilizing 46-run partnership for the second wicket before falling victim to Mohammad Ali in the sixth over.
Zalmi then suffered another setback to their batting lineup when Usama Mir dismissed Haseebullah Khan (3) in the eighth over.
Meanwhile, Babar Azam held firm and kept the scoreboard ticking until Chris Jordan dismissed him with a well-executed yorker in the 14th over.
He remained the highest run-scorer for Peshawar Zalmi with 46 runs off 42 deliveries, comprising five boundaries.
After his departure, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (24) and Rovman Powell (12) made significant contributions before Paul Walter and Luke Wood provided late fireworks.
Walter (12) and Wood (14) shared an unbroken 15-run partnership for the eighth wicket, guiding Zalmi to surpass the 140-run mark.
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 dismissed one batter each.
It must be noted that United and Gladiators will lock horns in Eliminator 1 on March 15 and the winner will face Zalmi the following day for the second spot in the final.
Comments