DUBAI – Defending champion Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi in the rain-hit opening match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday by seven wickets.
The United were set a target of 191 runs that was reduced to 173 in 18 overs under D/L method after rain.
Shane Watson took four wickets for United and Brad Hadden and Dwayne Smith scored 73, 55 respectively while chasing the target.
Kamran Akmal of Peshawar Zalmi was the only Pakistani player who entertained the crowd with his massive sixes, scoring 88 runs off 48 balls. Hadden was the man of the match.
Sent into bat, Zalmi lost Hafeez on the first ball of the match, however, it recovered quickly and reached the 100-run mark in less than 10 overs. Afrdi made four, Sammy seven and Sohail made 12 runs off 14 balls after Akmal’s departure. Dawid Malan who struck a partnership with Akmal and stabilised the innings was finally caught at 43 on a ball by Shane Watson.
Watson took 4 wickets, Muhammad Irfan and Muhammad Sami 2 wickets each while Saeed Ajmal grabbed only one.
Islamabad United off to a winning start! 190/9 #IUvPZ #HBLPSL pic.twitter.com/dP7UJs8GDP
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 9, 2017
Due to rain, the target was reduced to 173 runs in 18-overs.
Live Score: Islamabad 175/3 (17.4 /18 overs)
Live Score: Peshawar 173/9 (20.0 /20 overs)
Squads
Zalmi Batting
M.Hafeez 0
D.Malan 43
K.Akmal 88
Morgan 1
H Sohail 12
D.Sammy 7
S Afridi 4
Iftikhar 0
C.Jordan 16*
Hasan.Ali 4
Junain khan 0*— 2nd HBL PSL T20 2017 (@officialPSL2) February 9, 2017
Check out @alanwilkins22 & @AliZafarsays‘s lovely duet of #AbKhelJamayGa! #HBLPSL #IUvPZ pic.twitter.com/CgClFxH87w
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 9, 2017
6.2 SIX! Shahid Afridi to Brad Haddin
watch ball by ball https://t.co/OnwzbkhC0O #cricingif #HBLPSL #AbKhelJamayGa pic.twitter.com/VOIYqIcHfg— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 9, 2017
Islamabad United: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Shane Watson, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Samuel Badree, Mohammad Sami, Khalid Latif, Brad Haddin, Sam Billings, Hussain Talat, Amad Butt, Dwayne Smith, Zohaib Khan, Ben Duckett, Shadab Khan, Ruman Raees, Saeed Ajmal, Imran Khalid, Asif Ali, Syed Muzammil Shah, Steven Finn
Support staff: Owner: Leonine Global Sports, Director/Bowling Coach: Wasim Akram, Head Coach: Dean Jones (Australia), Assistant Coach: Tauseef Ahmed, Fielding Coach: Johan Botha (South Africa), Co-Manager: Rehan ul Haq, Co-Manager: Hasan Naeem
Peshawar Zalmi: Darren Sammy (captain), Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood, Eoin Morgan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Hafeez, Chris Jordan, Kamran Akmal, Iftikhar Ahmed, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Asghar, Khushdil Shah, Junaid Khan, Imran Khan Jr, M. Irfan Khan, Marlon Samuels, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Samit Patel, Dawid Malan
Support staff: Owner: Javed Afridi (Haier Pakistan), CEO: Zeeshan Afzal, Manager: Abdul Rehman, President Peshawar Zalmi: Shahid Afridi, Head Coach/Director: Mohammad Akram, Batting Coach/Mentor: Younis Khan, Fielding Coach/Fitness Trainer: Grant Luden (South Africa).
