PSL 2021 Eliminator 2: Peshawar Zalmi beat Islamabad United by 8 wickets to reach final

ABU DHABI – Peshawar Zalmi on Tuesday beat Islamabad United by 8 wickets to reach the final of the Pakistan Super League's sixth edition.

Peshawar chased the 175-run target set by Islamabad United with the help of impressive batting by Hazratullah Zazai (66) and Jono Wells (55). 

Peshawar has reached the final for the fourth time and now they will face Multan Sultans on June 24 at Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.

Peshawar put Islamabad to bat first and they scored 174 for the loss of nine wickets and set a 175-run target for the Wahab Riaz-led side.

Hasan Ali's start with the ball was not as effective as his batting in the first innings. He hit 45 off 16 balls. The pacer conceded 15 runs, including six extras, in the first over. However, he wrapped it up on a positive note by dismissing Kamran Akmal (8) on the last ball.

Mohammad Wasim gave Islamabad a breakthrough as he dismissed Zazai (66) in the 15th over and broke the 126-run partnership between the Afghan batsman and Wells (55). 

After Zazai’s dismissal, Shoaib Malik (32) came in to bat and hit three consecutive fours in the 17th over to end the match on a high and take his team to the finals.

Islamabad United Innings

Islamabad United handed a 175-run target to Peshawar Zalmi on Tuesday evening.

Usman Khawaja went for a duck, Colin Munro scored 44, Muhammad Akhlaq 7, Brandon King 18, Iftikhar Ahmed 10, Shadab Khan 15, Asif Ali 8, Faheem Ashraf 1, Hasan Ali 45, and Mohammad Wasim remained not out for 17 not out.

Skipper Riaz and Umaid Asif got two wickets each, while Amad Butt, Mohammad Irfan, and Mohammad Imran picked up one wicket each.

Shoaib Malik's delivery in the first over to Colin Munro saw in the dismissal of Khawaja (0). He was given run out when he smashed it down to Malik and the all-rounder's shoelace touched the ball and hit the non-striker's end.

Pacer Imran had Akhlaq (7) was caught behind in the second over when he attempted to hit it over fine leg.

To end the power play in style, Munro (44) hit 19 runs in the sixth over.

In the eighth over, Malik dropped the catch of Brandon King, but Butt did not give up and dismissed the West Indies batsman for 18 in the last ball of the over, with a comfortable catch by Asif.

Akmal dropped an important catch of Munro in the ninth over and he took the much-needed catch three balls later. Irfan had New Zealand batter caught behind for 44 runs.

Pacer Irfan started struggling due to an injury on his foot after completing four overs for 21. The umpires seemed unsatisfied with the explanation and the Zalmi were a fielder down.

Iftikhar (10) was dismissed in the 13th over after he nicked the ball and got caught behind.

In the 15th over, Asif bowled a short ball with extra bounce to Shadab Khan (15), who nicked the ball and sent it safely into the wicketkeeper's hands.

In the same over, Asif got an important wicket of Ali (8) with an impressive catch by the Sherfane Rutherford, just yards away from the ropes.

The umpires, in the 15th over, allowed Peshawar to replace Irfan with a substitute after they were satisfied that he was injured.

Riaz took the eighth wicket for his team as he dismissed Ashraf (1).

To take some pressure off Islamabad, Ali smashed 21 runs to Asif in the 17th over. 

Ali turned things around for Islamabad, as he took the Peshawar skipper to sweepers and hit 18 runs in the 19th over.

Despite 16 runs coming from the last over of the match, Peshawar dismissed Ali for 45 runs. 

Playing XI:

Peshawar Zalmi: Kamran Akmal (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Jono Wells, Shoaib Malik, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Ahmad Butt, Wahab Riaz (captain), Umaid Asif, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Imran

Islamabad United: Usman Khawaja, Colin Munro, Muhammad Akhlaq (wk), Shadab Khan (captain), Brandon King, Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Muhammad Wasim Jnr, Akif Javed