Twitter Reactions: Lahore Qalandars notch up victory against Peshawar Zalmi despite poor fielding efforts

The trend has continued for three days now with the first batting side being able to defend scores and Peshawar Zalmi will need to sort out a lot of issues after the 29 run loss to the Lahore Qalandars in the ninth match of PSL 2022.

Earlier in the day, Peshawar Zalmi won the toss and opted to bowl first at the National Stadium in Karachi. Shoaib Malik opened the bowling for the Peshawar side and the tactic misfired with the openers Abdullah Shafique and Fakhar Zaman going after the veteran. The powerplay was very much productive with 61 runs scored without a wicket and the openers continued their good form for the Lahore Qalandars.

Shafique was dismissed for 41 off 31 balls while his partner Fakhar hit a fluent 66 of just 38 balls to provide the impetus for a back end flourish. Kamran Ghulam (30) and Mohammad Hafeez (37*) kept finding the boundaries while Rashid Khan showed his batting skills as well scoring 22 in just eight balls, with three sixes in the end.

The Lahore Qalandars got to a fantastic total of 199 for the loss of 4 wickets in their 20 overs. Salman Irshad managed to pick up 2 wickets while Usman Qadir and Hussain Talat picked up one wicket each.

Haider Ali and Kamran Akmal provide a glimpse of hope

In reply, the Peshawar side had a big blow at the start with the wicket of Afghanistan’s Hazratullah Zazai in the third ball of the innings. Shaheen Afridi produced a peach of a delivery to dismiss the left-hander while Hussain Talat and veteran Kamran Akmal joined hands. Akmal hit two sixes and four fours in his innings of 41 off just 24 balls at a strike rate of 170 and gave the much-needed momentum while Talat(15) kept increasing the pressure with dot balls.

Once Akmal and Talat perished, experienced batter Shoaib Malik couldn’t do much damage and was dismissed for just 7 while Haider Ali still was in the crease. Sherfane Rutherford hit three fours and a six to revive the side but it turned out to be a small cameo and it was down to Ali to take the side home with Ben Cutting.

The pair did keep Peshawar in the hunt for a while with a 33 run partnership in quick time but they were dismissed at the wrong time to end their side’s last hopes. Zaman Khan and Afridi combined picked five wickets and dented the run chase.

David Wiese did the final rights with two wickets in the final over and Lahore Qalandars won the game by 29 runs in the end. With the win, the Lahore Qalandars have now moved into the second position in the points table while Peshawar Zalmi are lying at the fifth position with a lot of work to be done.

Here’s how Twitterati reacted to the win: