Despite Imad Wasim and Shoaib Malik scoring half-centuries, Peshawar Zalmi prevailed by two runs in the second match of the eighth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Captain of the Karachi King’s undefeated 80-run innings from Imad, and a stunning half-century from Malik, both were tasked with chasing 200 and finished with a score of 197/5 after 20 overs.
The host team’s top order fell to 46/4 after the batting power play, giving them a rough start in the run chase.
Imad and Malik led the run chase after the Kings fell behind due to a 131-run partnership between the fifth and sixth wickets.
Pacer Wahab Riaz bowled Malik with a slower delivery in the nineteenth over, hampered the Kings’ pursuit.
Four fours and two sixes assisted Malik in scoring 52 runs off only 34 balls.
Imad paired up with all-rounder Ben Cutting after Malik’s departure and continued to fight for victory. Still, his efforts were eventually in vain as rookie bowler Khurram Shahzad successfully guarded 16 runs in the final over while retaining composure under duress.
Imad led the Kings in scoring with an undefeated 80 off 47 balls with seven fours and four sixes.
Wahab and James Neesham each grabbed two wickets for Zalmi, while Salman Irshad only managed one.
Babar Azam and Tom Kohler-Cadmore scored half-centuries to help Zalmi amass a mammoth 199/5 in their stipulated 20 overs after being sent into bat by the Kings skipper Imad.
With only 16 runs on the board after the second over of the first innings, with the visiting team batting first, Mohammad Haris (10) and Saim Ayub (1) perished as the visitors’ innings got off to a poor start.
After an initial setback, Zalmi’s captain Babar and third-wicket partner Kohler-Cadmore pulled together a remarkable 139-run partnership for the third wicket.
Imran Tahir eventually struck in the 16th over, striking Babar for 68 to provide a much-needed breakthrough for the Kings. In 46 deliveries, the right-handed batsman hammered seven fours and a six.
The fourth wicket of Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who scored only six runs before being dismissed by Andrew Tye, was briefly shared by Kohler-Cadmore.
With Kohler-Cadmore attempting a century, the Zalmi was ready to surpass 200 runs. However, Cutting utilized his experience to bowl a superb final over in which only eight runs were scored, and the set batter was dismissed.
Kohler-Cadmore led the Zalmi in scoring 92 runs off 50 balls, including seven fours and six sixes.
Each of the Kings’ Mir Hamza, Cutting, Imran, and Tye took one wicket.
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