LAHORE: Peshawar Zalmi Sunday thrashed Lahore Qalandars by 8 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium during the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season nine. Qalandars’ Rassie van der Dussen smashed the first century of the PSL season nine but it was not enough to give his side the first win of the tournament. The South African remained unbeaten on 105 off 52 balls in a chase of 212. This was Lahore’s fifth straight loss of the season while Zalmi registered back-to-back wins.
Van der Dussen played like a lone warrior throughout the chase with small contributions from other batters. Shai Hope made 29 while Ahsan Bhatti chipped in with 20.
Jahandad Khan (13) tried to hand help to Van der Dussen but Paul Walter made the task difficult in the final overs.
Van der Dussen’s innings included seven fours and five sixes. He batted with a strike-rate of 200.
Pacer Naveen-ul-Haq took two wickets while Walter, Luke Wood and Salman Irshad picked one each.
Earlier after being put into bat first by Shaheen Afridi, Zalmi’s batting lineup dominated the depleted Qalandars’ bowling attack and amassed a substantial total on the scoreboard, thanks to a prolonged opening partnership.
Zalmi’s openers, Babar Azam and Ayub, entered the fray aggressively against the home side, accumu-lating 136 runs for the first wicket in a mere 14.2 overs.
Ayub played a predominant role in the opening partnership, with Azam consistently rotating the strike. Unfortunately, the skipper’s anchoring innings concluded in disappointment, falling prey to Qalandars’ captain Shaheen Shah Afridi in the 15th over, just two runs shy of a well-deserved half-century.
Azam’s innings comprised 48 runs off 36 deliveries, including five boundaries. Subsequently, Ayub partnered with the hard-hitting batsman Rovman Powell, sustaining the momentum.
The duo swiftly added 39 runs in 16 deliveries before Afridi dismissed Ayub in the 18th over. Ayub emerged as the top-scorer for Zalmi, amassing 88 runs off 55 balls, featuring eight boundaries and four sixes.
After Ayub’s departure, Powell assumed control of Zalmi’s batting campaign, contributing to the total with a rapid knock that concluded on the penultimate delivery of the innings. Powell’s aggressive in-nings included five boundaries and two sixes, culminating in a 20-ball 46.
Powell found support from wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Haris in the latter stages, who re-mained unbeaten with 12 runs off just five deliveries.
Afridi spearheaded the Qalandars’ bowling attack, claiming 3/33, while Jahandad Khan secured one wicket. –Agencies
