KARACHI: In the first playoff match of the Pakistan Super League Season 11, Peshawar Zalmi defeated Islamabad United by 70 runs to qualify for the final.
The match was played at the National Bank Cricket Stadium Karachi, where Islamabad United won the toss and invited Zalmi to bat first.
Batting first, Zalmi scored 221 for 7 in the allotted 20 overs. Captain Babar Azam played a sensational innings of 103 off 59 balls, hitting 4 sixes and 12 fours.
Kusal Mendis contributed 41 runs, while Mohammad Haris scored 35. Aaron Hardie added 20 runs.
On the other hand, Michael Bracewell scored 2 runs, while Abdul Samad and Farrhan Yousaf failed to open their accounts. Iftikhar Ahmed remained unbeaten on 3 and Khurram Manzoor on 4.
For Islamabad United, captain Shadab Khan took 3 wickets, while Salman Mirza and Faheem Ashraf claimed one wicket each.
In reply, Islamabad United were bowled out for 151 runs, falling well short of the target. Sameer Munir top-scored with 44 runs. Zalmi’s bowlers dominated, with Aaron Hardie taking 3 wickets, while Sufiyan Muqeem and Mohammad Basit picking up 2 wickets each.
With this win, Peshawar Zalmi have qualified for the PSL 11 final for the fifth time, becoming the most frequent finalists in the tournament’s history.
Despite the loss, Islamabad United are not eliminated and will get another chance to qualify for the final through the next stage of the competition.
