Sports Desk
KARACHI: A combined bowling effort, followed by Yasir Khan’s blistering half-century powered Multan Sultans to beat Peshawar Zalmi by seven wickets and qualify for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final.
Set to chase a modest 147, the Sultans amassed the total for the loss of just three wickets and nine balls to spare, courtesy of a solid knock by Yasir up the order.
The Sultans had a flying start to the pursuit as Yasir and Mohammad Rizwan notched up a brisk 61-run partnership.
Yasir was the core aggressor of the opening stand while Rizwan was anchoring through until he fell prey to Aamer Jamal in the eighth over.
Rizwan managed just 15 off 21 deliveries and could hit a single boundary.
Yasir then partnered with Usman Khan for a brief 23-run partnership before walking back to the dugout soon after completing his half-century. He remained the top-scorer for the Sultans with a 37-ball 54 with the help of seven boundaries and a six. Usman then took charge of the Sultans’ pursuit and he carried his bat all the way through with an unbeaten 36 off 28 deliveries to steer them to a comfortable victory.
He received notable support from Iftikhar Ahmed, who played a quickfire 22-run cameo. His eight-ball featured three boundaries and a six.
For Peshawar Zalmi, Aamer Jamal, Salman Irshad and Mehran Mumtaz could pick up a wicket apiece.
Opting to bat first, Zalmi only managed a subpar total on the board despite Babar Azam’s anchoring knock.
Zalmi had a dismal start to their innings as they lost their in-form opener Saim Ayub (1) in the first over with just four runs on the board.
Following the early debacle, Mohammad Haris joined Babar in the middle and put together an anchoring 46-run partnership for the second wicket before falling victim to Mohammad Ali in the sixth over.
Zalmi then sustained another blow to their batting charge when Usama Mir got rid of Haseebullah Khan (3) in the eighth over.
Meanwhile, Babar Azam stood his ground firm and kept the scoreboard ticking until Chris Jordan cleaned him up with a well-crafted yorker in the 14th over.
He remained the top-scorer for Peshawar Zalmi with 46 off 42 deliveries, laced up with five boundaries.
Following his departure, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (24) and Rovman Powell (12) made notable contributions before Paul Walter and Luke Wood offered late fireworks.
Walter (12) and Wood added an unbeaten 15 for the eighth wicket, lifting Zalmi to go past the 140-run mark.
Wood was the core aggressor of the stand with his brisk 14-run cameo which came off just seven deliveries and featured one boundary and a six.
Usama Mir, the leading wicket-taker of the PSL 9, and Chris Jordan led the bowling attack for Multan Sultans with two wickets each while David Wiley, Mohammad Ali and Abbas Afridi struck out a batter apiece.
