PSL 2017, Match 12, Review: Islamabad United cruise past Peshawar Zalmi for an easy win

The Peshawar Zalmi were desperate for a win after having seen their previous match get washed out. They had to settle with shared points and were thus keen on getting full bounty this time around. They were up against defending champions Islamabad United. The showdown was a recap of the season opener. Earlier when these two teams had met in the first match of the season, it was Islamabad that had prevailed in the rain-marred encounter.

Going into the game, Islamabad started off on a good note yet again and won the toss. Misbah Ul Haq, the skipper, opted to bowl first. They played with the same overseas combination that they fielded in the previous match – Sam Billings, Dwayne Smith, Brad Haddin and Shane Watson. Peshawar Zalmi also stuck to their same overseas combination. They fielded an unchanged line-up that had featured in their previous match. Eoin Morgan, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Darren Sammy made up the four overseas quota.

The Peshawar Zalmi innings began with Tamim Iqbal and Kamran Akmal opening the innings. Akmal was promoted up the order after his consistent failure in the middle order. The move did not work for the Zalmi. They lost their in-form batsman Tamim Iqbal in the fourth over. Rumman Raees got him out on 4. Mohammad Hafeez, who had a horrid run coming into the game, saw his nightmare continue. He was the next to depart as Mohammad Irfan sent him packing on 10 in the 5th over.

Kamran Akmal tried his best to get his feet going but could manage just 19 off 17 balls before being dismissed by Shadab Khan an over after the powerplay. The woes continued for the Zalmis as Sohaib Maqsood and Shakib Al Hasan departed in quick succession with scores of 0 and 5 respectively. The cavalcade continued with only Eoin Morgan managing to get a run-a-ball 28. Wickets kept tumbling and nothing looked great at 78/6 in 13.3 overs.

Also read – PSL 2017, Match 11, Review: KP storm blows away Lahore Qalandars in run fest

Darren Sammy (20 off 19) and Wahab Riaz (23 off 15) ensured that the Peshawar Zalmi managed to get a below par yet decent 136/9 in their 20 overs. Mohammad Sami was the pick of the bowlers as he runs through the middle order with figures of 3/26.

In walked Dwayne Smith and Rafatullah Mohmand to open the innings in the run chase. It came as a surprise to not see Sam Billing open the innings. The move certainly did not click as Rafatullah was sent packing on 11 (8) by Junaid Khan in the second over. Brad Haddin was the new man in and his poor run continued as he was caught plumb lbw off the bowling of Hasan Ali in the third over for 2. Billings finally made his strides to the pitch but not for long.

He struggled for 16 deliveries for his 11 runs before being cleaned up by Wahab Riaz in the 9th over. Meanwhile, Dwayne Smith was slowly getting into his own groove. The pace was definitely not there as the Islamabad United team could be seen scoring at less than 6 runs per over up until the midway stage in the innings. Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq perished soon too, and Shakib-al-Hasan was the beneficiary who got him out on 5. Smith finally found some support in Shane Watson towards the end of the innings.

From 73/4, the efforts of Watson and Smith saw Islamabad eventually cruise to the target with 137/5 in exactly 20 overs. Watson was dismissed on 30 off 22 balls on the penultimate delivery of the innings. Smith, on the other hand, remained unbeaten on 72 off 59 deliveries with 6 fours and  4 sixes to see his side emerge victorious with 5 wickets in hand.

Brief Scores:

Peshawar Zalmi 136/9 in 20 overs (Morgan 28, Riaz 23, Sami 3/26, Raees 2/19)

Islamabad United 137/5 in 20 overs (Smith 72*, Watson 30, Hasan Ali 1/17, Riaz 1/21)