All-round Iftikhar wins Zalmi a thriller
He first took four wickets to dismiss Kingsmen for 145, before settling an unconvincing chase for his team with a last-over six
He first took four wickets to dismiss Kingsmen for 145, before settling an unconvincing chase for his team with a last-over six
Scorer: Chetan Kumar | Commentator: Rashad Mahbub
That concludes our coverage for today's PSL match, folks. Thank you for staying with us throughout the evening. Do join us again tomorrow for a double-header day. Until then, this is Rashad Mahbub, signing off on behalf of Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi and the rest of the scoring team. Goodnight!
Marnus Labuschagne: "Yeah, that's a tough one to swallow. I think we got so close that it felt like the game was ours. Iftikhar played a nice shot in that last over and brought things back into their favor. Looking at the score, it was definitely below par. [Long discussions in the death overs] I think it certainly wasn't just me out there. We tried to use our two time-violations so we could keep talking, get our fields right, ensure the best fielders were in the right positions, and make sure we did all the small things correctly. So much credit has to go to our fast bowlers, who bowled the four overs leading up to the last. They had 15 to chase off the final over, and while sometimes it doesn't go your way, it was an unbelievable effort to keep us in the game like that. [What do you think is holding your team back?] I said it to the boys before: I don't think we've played a full match yet where we've put everything together. In our game against Multan, we got 230 and put it together with the bat, but today we didn't. We lost six for two, but Kusal Perera played an amazing innings to get us into a position where we could build a partnership through the middle. Then, we put on an unbelievable display of bowling to almost close the gap."
Player of the Match: Iftikhar Ahmed
Shadow-Shell: "19.4 The difference one ball can make"
10:40 pm What a nerve-wracking finish! Zalmi started with real intent as Haris cleared the ropes with a massive six off the very first ball of the innings. Theekshana struck back to dismiss him in the following over, but Mendis and Babar kept the momentum going, guiding the team to 56 runs in the Powerplay. Their 49-run stand eventually ended in the ninth over when Mendis slog swept a catch to the fielder on the leg-side boundary. Babar and Bracewell then took charge of the chase until Saim broke through in the 14th over, dismissing Bracewell for 25 runs. The Kingsmen surged back as Babar departed for 43 runs in the very next over to Hassan Khan. Mohammad Ali then turned the tide in the 17th, conceding just two runs and picking up a wicket, then Hunain removed Samad in the 18th to send the required rate climbing over 8.50. With Ali and Hunain combined to bowl nine consecutive dot balls at the death overs, it seemed the Kingsmen's seamers had the game secured. However, Iftikhar Ahmed had other plans; a four and a six in the final over flipped the script completely to seal it for Zalmi. It's a heartbreaking result for Labuschagne's men, who are still searching for their first win of the season. With this victory, Zalmi climb to fourth in the standings. Post-match coverage is coming up shortly.
Peshawar Zalmi won by 4 wickets
Scores Level. Super over, anyone? Another long discussion between the fielders and this time the umpire interrupts it. Attacking field setup. Will it be another yorker? Labuschagne is standing right behind Iftikhar at the non-striker's end beside the umpire.
Shadow-Shell: "Absolute masterclass death bowling. Just wow!"
Labuschagne, Niazi, Saim and Hunain gather again for a long discussion. 2 runs needed off 2 balls.
8 runs needed off 3 balls. Ramp scoop shot against the fuller lengths maybe?
14 needed from the last over. Hunain to bowl. Iftikhar has been the star with the ball earlier; can he replicate the same performance with the bat too?
He first took four wickets to dismiss Kingsmen for 145, before settling an unconvincing chase for his team with a last-over six