Peshawar Zalmi overcame dropped catches, no balls, slow over rate penalty and a stunning 80 not out off 47 from Imad Wasim – his highest T20 score – but result was in Favour of Peshawar as of their first victory in the opening game at the National Stadium Karachi.
Peshawar Zalmi seemed headed for a comfortable win when they had the hosts struggling at 46 for four in 6.1 overs during the second match of the HBL Pakistan Super League 8 at the National Bank Cricket Arena. However, the highest-ever fifth wicket partnership in the tournament’s history (131 runs) between Karachi Kings captain Imad and Pakistan’s most experienced T20 player, Shoaib Malik, turned the match into an exciting affair.
Malik, who scored 52 off 34 balls, and Imad came together at the crease at the start of the seventh over. After taking a brief moment to settle in, they displayed positive intent and attacked the opposition bowlers. They were also aided by fielding lapses and no balls, one of which resulted in a catch being taken.
Imad was on nine when he was dropped by Jimmy Neesham at backward point on the last ball of the eighth over. Imad was quick to rub salt into the wounds when he hit left-arm wrist spinner Sufyan Muqeem, the visiting side’s emerging pick, for two fours on either side of Malik’s boundary in an over that added 14 to the total.
In the 17th over, Wahab Riaz dropped a sitter at deep midwicket off Neesham and on the penultimate ball of the 19th Ben Cutting was caught off a no ball, delivered by Wahab.
Imad hit four sixes and seven fours in an inning in which he scored at a strike rate of 170.21 and Malik smashed four fours and two sixes.
Peshawar Zalmi found themselves behind the required over rate and had to field five fielders inside the 30-yard circle for the last two overs.
With Karachi Kings needing 24 runs off the last 12 balls, Wahab used his experience to concede only eight runs, despite a no-ball by Cutting, leaving Khurram with 16 runs to defend in the final over.
Khurram bowled with precision, hitting the yorker length on the first three balls, each costing a single. However, he crossed the line on the fourth ball, adding drama to the tense contest as Karachi Kings managed to take a single off that delivery. The right-arm fast bowler held his nerve, conceding singles on the next two balls. Although Imad hit the last ball for a six, Khurram had already secured the win for Peshawar Zalmi.
Peshawar Zalmi’s innings started with a boundary when Haris smashed Mohammad Amir for a four at deep long-on. However, they quickly found themselves in trouble as Haris and Saim Ayub were dismissed within three balls in the second over. Haris was struck on his back leg while attempting a heave over midwicket, and Saim was run out at the non-striker’s end when Babar’s drive down the ground ricocheted off Mir Hamza’s hand and hit the stumps. Haris was adjudged not out by on-field umpire Alex Wharf, only to be overturned on review. The momentum quickly shifted away from the home side when Kohler-Cadmore hit Imad for three consecutive sixes in the fifth over, adding 23 runs to Peshawar Zalmi’s total. This marked an outstanding recovery, with Peshawar Zalmi reaching 58 for two at the end of the Powerplay after being 15 for two in 1.4 overs. Kohler-Cadmore and Babar continued to accumulate runs quickly, taking 64 balls to bring up a 100-run partnership. Kohler-Cadmore reached his 50 in 28 balls, and Babar brought up his 24th HBL PSL half-century in 39 balls. Kohler-Cadmore kept attacking the Karachi Kings bowlers but fell eight runs short of a century, caught pulling Ben Cutting at deep fine leg in the last over.
Player of the match Kohler-Cadmore struck seven fours and six sixes and Babar hit seven fours and a six.
Scores in brief:
Peshawar Zalmi 199-5, 20 overs (Tom Kohler-Cadmore 92, Babar Azam 68)
Karachi Kings 197-5, 20 overs (Imad Wasim 80 not out, Shoaib Malik 52, Matthew Wade, 23; James Neeshan 2-26, Wahab Riaz 2-34)
Player of the match – Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Peshawar Zalmi)