DUBAI – Defending champion Islamabad United thrashed Peshawar Zalmi by seven wickets in the first rain-hit T20 match of Pakistan Super League’s second edition at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Wicket-keeper batsman Brad Haddin has played a superb innings of 73 off 39 balls, while opener Dwayne Smith made 55 runs to secure victory for his team.
Peshawar Zalmi had set a target of 191 runs with the help of Kamran Akmal’s 88 runs against Islamabad United.
Haddin received ‘Man of the Match’ award for his excellent performance.
Islamabad United off to a winning start! 190/9 #IUvPZ #HBLPSL pic.twitter.com/dP7UJs8GDP
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 9, 2017
Live Score: Islamabad 175/3 (17.4/18 overs)
Live Score: Peshawar 173/9 (20. 0 /20 overs)
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
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
The match started at 09:00 PM Pakistan time, which corresponds to 08:30 PM Indian time, 05:00 GMT and 08:00 PM according to UAE time.
Check out @alanwilkins22 & @AliZafarsays‘s lovely duet of #AbKhelJamayGa! #HBLPSL #IUvPZ pic.twitter.com/CgClFxH87w
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 9, 2017
Where to watch: All matches will air on PTV Sports and Ten Sports. Similarly, cricket enthusiasts of the world can catch live action on MENA – OSN, Africa – Startimes, Bangladesh – Gazi TV, UK – A plus, channel 44, Prime TV, Geo TV, Caribbean – Flow TV, USA – A Plus, Afghanistan – Moby.
Zalmi vs United head to head
Islamabad United clashed with Peshawar Zalmi thrice in last year’s PSL, out of which Zalmi won two and United won one match.
Peshawar Zalmi won the first clash by 24 runs and the second by 7 wickets. In the third face-off between the two teams, Islamabad United won by 50 runs in the playoffs, eliminating Zalmi from the tournament.
A bird’s eye view of the squads
Islamabad United have fielded 17 players, most of them are veterans, including Misbah-ul-Haq, Shane Watson, Saeed Ajmal, Samuel Badree, Mohammad Sami and Brad Haddin.
But the team has some aggressive young blood in the form of English wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Duckett, who is a supplementary player, and another English wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Billings, known for his explosive batting.
The Zalmi will also be relying on the experience of veterans Mohammad Hafeez, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi and Wahab Riaz. Haris Sohail, whose return to cricket has been much-awaited by the fans, will finally be seen in action for the Zalmi and will bring some much-needed stability to the top order.
PLS Rankings– Peshawar Zalmi 1, Islamabad United 3
Prize Money
The winning team would get the prize money of $700,000 while runner-up team will get $350,000. The Pakistan Cricket Board has also introduced Imtiaz Ahmed Trophy, Hanif Mohammad Trophy and Fazal Mahmood Trophy for the best wicketkeeper, batsman and the bowler in the tournament respectively.
Squads
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).
