PSL 2018, Eliminator 2 Review: Peshawar Zalmi storm into the finals; Heartbreak for Karachi

The battles lines have been drawn for the final showdown in Karachi and it’s the champions from the first edition Islamabad United taking on the champions of the second edition Peshawar Zalmi. Whilst Islamabad United have been comprehensive in every department, Zalmi had to fight a lot of adversities to get here and a lot of credit goes to their skipper Darren Sammy for the way he led the side.

Unfortunately for the Karachi Kings, this rain-marred encounter brought an end to their dreams of playing a final in front of their home fans in Karachi. There was a lot of drama and suspense regarding the weather conditions in Lahore. Yesterday, the rain gods showed some mercy, but today he wasn’t that kind. In the end, both sides had to consent to a 16-over per side encounter.

Batting first, Kamran Akmal played one of the finest innings of this PSL season to help his side take the initial advantage. There was a time when the actual rain stopped and the boundaries started to pour in. His strike-rate was over 300 at a time, very much reminiscent of that innings played by Chris Gayle, where he scored 175 off 66 balls in the IPL.

Andre Fletcher gave him great support at the other end, picking singles and squeezing boundaries here and there. But Akmal’s majestic knock hogged all the limelight and his brilliant second-fiddle effort went slightly unnoticed. Akmal registered a fifty in just 17 balls, which happens to be the fastest in the history of the tournament. He broke Luke Ronchi’s 19-ball record, which was registered just a few days back against the same bowling lineup in Dubai.

Kamran Akmal finished with a 27-ball 77 and Darren Sammy clobbered a few boundaries towards the end. The Zalmi posted a humongous 170 runs on the board in 16 overs, leaving a mountain to climb for the Karachi to book a flight to Karachi. Interestingly, Mohammad Amir went for just 16 runs in his 4 overs despite all the assault that was going on.

Denly and Azam fail to live up to the required rate

With due respect to the wonderful innings they played, Babar Azam and Joe Denly must realize that they didn’t do a great job. It’s very harsh to put it this way, but the way they approached when the required run rate started creeping up astronomically was very disheartening and frustrating. They neither got dismissed not did something spectacular, which saw the Zalmi earn a colossal win.

After Mukhtar Ahmed’s early departure, Joe Denly and Babar Azam got in the middle. The duo is known to approach the game in a conventional way and it looked all good for the Kings at the halfway mark. Their scoring rate was decent and the required rate didn’t go out of control. But they had to up the ante from this point, which they didn’t.

Although Azam tried to time the ball on numerous occasions towards point, he could never beat that one single fielder inside the circle. Frustration started to escalate, so did the required run rate. The Zalmi bowlers kept their composure and full marks to Darren Sammy for coming up with some amazing field placements.

Eventually, Azam and Denly registered their fifties, but to no good effect. The Kings lost just two wickets in their quest to chasing this mammoth target and registered 157 runs. The owners and fans of the club looked palpably shattered but on the other side, there were smiles and high-fives all around. Zalmi and Islamabad will rumble against each other in Karachi and no matter who wins, they’ll become the first team to win two PSL titles.

Brief Scores

Peshawar Zalmi: 170/7 in 16 overs (Kamran Akmal 77, Darren Sammy 23; Ravi Bopara 3/35)

Karachi Kings: 157/2 in 16 overs (Joe Denly 79*, Babar Azam 63; Sameen Gul 1/20)

Player of the match: Kamran Akmal