Peshawar Zalmi continued their winning streak in the PSL, coasting to an eight-wicket victory against Quetta Gladiators on Wednesday (April 15).
Led by Sufiyan Muqeem, the tournament's top wicket-taker so far, Zalmi bowled out Gladiators for 154, with none of the partnerships exceeding 35. It began with Iftikhar Ahmed dismissing Ahsan Ali off the third ball of the innings, caught in the deep, continuing his fine run with the ball.
Rilee Rossouw and Saud Shakeel were briefly fluent, but their partnership was cut short by a run-out; the captain was dismissed attempting a non-existent single in the fifth over.
Rossouw continued until Muqeem struck in his first over after being brought on. He put further brakes on the innings alongside Ali Raza, while Mohammad Basit dismissed Hasan Nawaz, their top-scorer, caught behind.
Gladiators kept trying big shots but managed only two sixes across the innings. The regular fall of wickets meant they never gathered enough momentum for a big total. Basit, using change of pace well, took two in the penultimate over with Gladiators just edging past 150.
Captain Shakeel later said that it was a "175-180" pitch, regretting the lack of clarity in the middle phases, stating, "We lose so many wickets that we ourselves are not able to decide how to play in that phase."
Zalmi started steadily in response: Babar Azam brought out his usual drives and flicks, while Mohammad Haris looked for more aerial options. The attempt to use Abrar Ahmed in the Powerplay didn't quite work out, as they cruised to 59/0 after six overs.
Haris was the first one to go, caught at the boundary by a juggling catch from Shamyl, who almost dropped it after parrying it back into play. Usman Tariq bowled a thrifty spell in the middle, complemented well by Shakeel, but the run-rate was always under control, never adding real pressure to the chase.
Babar continued unbothered, losing Kusal Mendis along the way, reaching his fifty in 37 balls. He hit 10 fours and no sixes, sealing the chase with a flick off Jahandad Khan with nine balls to spare. With this knock, Babar now has a century of fifties in T20 cricket. Muqeem was awarded his second Player of the Match in a row.
Mendis and Babar currently lead the run-charts, with Babar crossing 300 runs in a season for the third time for Zalmi. They now have six wins in seven games, including a washout, and are well set for a playoffs spot. Gladiators are fifth with two wins and four defeats.
@B0$ Quetta Gladiators 154 all out in 20 overs (Hasan Nawaz 37, Rilee Rossouw 26; Sufiyan Muqeem 3-25, Mohammad Basit 3-36) lost to Peshawar Zalmi 156/2 in 18.3 overs (Babar Azam 71, Mohammad Haris 35; Saud Shakeel 1-23, Alzarri Joseph 1-32)
