Hazratullah Zazai is one of the best strikers of the ball: Wahab Riaz

June 21, Monday saw some power-packed action in the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League. After a cracking Qualifier between Islamabad United and Multan Sultans, Peshawar Zalmi locked horns with the defending champions Karachi Kings in Eliminator 1 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium. 

The first eliminator commenced with Zalmi skipper Wahab Riaz winning the toss and making the choice of fielding first on the tricky surface. Zalmi bowlers performed decently as they managed to restrict the Kings at 175 for seven in the first innings. Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, and Umaid Asif picked two wickets each while Mohammad Imran also had one under his belt. 

Skipper Riaz seemed highly impressed with the bowling unit for their tremendous effort as he lauded the players for keeping their calm in a crucial match. Notably, Zalmi won the game against Karachi Kings by five wickets to qualify for the semi-final against Islamabad United. 

“Look it’s never over till it’s over in cricket. As a captain, I was nervous but the way boys played well, hats off to them and we must praise them for how they performed given the fact they didn’t play well in the last game so I think that was outstanding,” said Wahab Riaz in post-match talk.

Zazai put Karachi under pressure from the beginning: Wahab Riaz

Further in the interaction, the Zalmi skipper also heaped praise on the young opening batsman Hazratullah Zazai, whose remarkable knock of 77 runs helped the team win the match. Zazai was magnificent with the willow as he played a quickfire knock of 77 runs off just 38 deliveries. The 23-year-old successfully set a platform for the middle-order. 

“I think (Zazai) is one of the best strikers of the ball and the way he played and he always shows the intention. Whenever you are chasing 170 odd runs, one of your openers has to play deep and score 60 to 70 runs. The way he started, I think he put Karachi under pressure from the beginning. 

“The wicket was a bit difficult, it was keeping low and wasn’t coming nicely onto the bat but the start Zazai gave us helped us a lot. Others carried on like how Shoaib Malik played and how Khalid (Usman) played later,” Wahab concluded.