RAWALPINDI – Quetta Gladiators beat Peshawar Zalmi by eight wickets in the 25th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 8 on Wednesday.
Babar Azam’s thrilling 115 off 65 balls helped Peshawar Zalmi set a giant target of 241 runs for Quetta Gladiators at the loss of two wickets. Chasing the target, Quetta Gladiators scored the required runs in 18.2 overs at the loss of two wickets. Quetta Gladiators batsman Jason Roy scored 145 runs not out off 63 balls. He was supported by Mohammad Hafeez who scored 41 runs not out off 18 balls.
Azam has become the second leading century-maker in the T20 format after his thrilling performance against Gladiators at the Pindi Cricket Stadium. Saim Ayub made 74 runs while Rovman Powell scored 35 to keep up the momentum after removal of the Zalmi skipper.
Sarafaraz-led Gladiators are currently languishing at the bottom of the points table with four points and a net run rate of -1.344.
As Purple Force is facing hard times, its captain Sarfaraz Ahmed’s participation in today’s game is not confirmed as he suffered an injury on his left ring finger. Scans revealed no major injury scare to the skipper who was taken to hospital after the game.
Team management will continue to monitor the condition and the final decision will be taken after the assessment.
Earlier, Quetta Gladiators outshined Karachi Kings by four wickets at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in another push to make it to playoffs of the Twenty20 league.
To slide into the playoff, Quetta Gladiators need to win both of their matches against Zalmi and Sultans while defeats of Peshawar Zalmi will be of paramount importance for their future in the contest.
Peshawar Zalmi, on the other hand, are sitting at the fourth spot points table with a net run rate of -0.509. Yellow Storm thrashed Lahore Qalandars in a convincing win on Tuesday and need to continue winning momentum to advance in PSL.
PSL8: Peshawar Zalmi end Lahore Qalandars winning streak with 35-run victory
Squads
Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Haris, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Haseebullah Khan (wk), Rovman Powell, Aamer Jamal, Wahab Riaz, Azmatullah Omarzai, Arshad Iqbal, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Quetta Gladiators: Omair Yousuf, Martin Guptill, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Iftikhar Ahmed, Najibullah Zadran, Umar Akmal, Dwaine Pretorius, Naseem Shah, Naveen-ul-Haq, Aimal Khan
