Peshawar Zalmi 202 for 7 (Haider 50, Rutherford 36 *) beat Gladiators Quetta 198 for 7 (Sarfaraz 81, Azam 47) with 3 wikis
After losing their first two games, Quetta Gladiators looked likely to end the climb of their defenses on Friday night, but a late accusation from Sherfane Rutherford and Wahab Riaz took the game away from them and they took second. to Peshawar Zalmi in three games.
Zalmi’s defeat in 199 was the highest of the season and was the eighth straight game in the 2021 PSL where the running side won. The result puts Zalmi second on the points table while the Gladiators remain at the bottom of the rock.
After asking for bats, the Gladiators posted 198 for 7 behind a 105-run partnership between Sarfaraz Ahmed and Azam Khan. Sarfaraz, captain of Gladiators, hit 81 at a strike rate of more than 200 and Azam hit 47 in 26 balls. For most of the innings, the target seemed too hard to achieve, but some track bowling in the death blows from Mohammad Hasnain and Dale Steyn changed the complexity of the game.
For Zalmi, Haider Ali hit a 29-ball 50 while Imam Ul Haq and Shoaib Malik made useful contributions. But it was their low-level bats, Rutherford and Riaz, that made the difference. Rutherford scored 36 in his unbeaten 18-ball innings, while Riaz corrected for his poor bowling display – where he conceded 52 runs in four innings – by hitting 20 off just eight innings. to seal a win coming from behind.
du Plessis lays the foundation of Gladiators
Playing his first game of the PSL season, and fresh out of quarantine, Faf du Plessis came in at No. 3 for the Gladiators in the first innings after opener Cameron Delport fell for 2 in third place. After bringing in a few balls, he got off the blocks by beating Mohammad Irfan for four in the fourth over. When Irfan returned for the sixth time, du Plessis grabbed six and two fours to finish the Powerplay on a positive note for the Gladiators.
With Saim Ayub, the other opener, struggling to make time for the ball, it was du Plessis who made sure the early run rate didn’t fall below seven. But after Ayub was fired – run out by a direct blow from Rutherford – du Plessis was looking to take the anchor position as Sarfaraz started strongly. However, du Plessis died in 11th place for his 26-ball 37 when he stretched at an extra deep cover, deceived by a slower ball Riaz.
Sarfaraz, archers Azam maul Zalmi
With 58 balls left in the innings and a score of 86 for 3, back keeper Azam joined regular keeper and captain Sarfaraz in the middle. Sarfaraz started the charge early by playing a late cut from Riaz for four. Azam then found his feet, beating England fast player Saqib Mahmood for a back four to finish the 13th over.
When Riaz returned for his second spell in the 15th, Azam beat him for a 98m six level before breaking two fours to the back point area for 16 runs where he was. The 16th from Mujeeb then went for 18 as Sarfaraz found the end of the cover, after which Azam hit four and six just past the Afghan finger player. The 17th from Mahmood then went for nine as Sarfaraz reached his fifty in 31 balls.
Sarfaraz then beat Irfan for three fours in the 18th to bring the run level to 10. With Zalmi’s bowling unit looking undefeated, Sarfaraz Riaz broke the next for 18 runs in four deliveries in the 19th. However, he fell off the last ball trying to clear the straight boundary. The fourth-wicket partnership came in just 55 balls.
At 193 for 4, and with six balls left, the Gladiators were ready to break 200, but Mahmood returned with three wickets in his final round over. He eliminated Azam, Ben Cutting and Mohammad Nawaz to finish with 3 for 34. But overall the archers had a day to forget Zalmi with Riaz (2 for 54) delivering his most expensive T20 spell, Mujeeb a going at 11 percent and Irfan surrendering nearly 40 in his four. At the halfway mark, 198 for 7 Gladiators was the 2021 highest PSL.
Gladiators hit early with the ball
Zalmi struggled early in the chase. After an interesting first kick from Steyn and a quick man from Hasnain, the Gladiators saw the back of Kamran Akmal after the bat slipped Usman Shinwari to a deep third. Although Imam kept the scoreboard ticking, No. 3 Tom Kohler-Cadmore failed to win from the other end, falling to Steyn when the last ball of a full-over quarterback came to an end. by his profession.
Imam, Haider, Malik give Zalmi hope
Imam then found Haider for company. Together they hit a fifty fast stand for the third wicket. The two bats found a boundary at will, but Imam fell in tenth place as he tried to come down to Zahid Mahmood. Mahmood fell, seeing an Imam coming down to the ground, let go and the ball went under the bat to hit the stumps. Read the score, halfway through the 11th over, 79 for 3.
Haider, however, had now slowed down, and with the experienced Shoaib Malik as a partner, they kept together hitting boundaries to monitor the required running rate. Malik’s first boundary view was six above Cutting’s head in 11th place while Haider grabbed Shinwari in the 13th. Haider followed six with two fours off Shinwari to prey on the Gladiators enough to see Sarfaraz speak long with the bowler in a lively manner. The 14th from Zahid then went for double numbers as Malik attacked the straight boundary. But the 52-run stand ended when Haider was sent off by a slower Steyn ball in his spell back at the start of the 15th over.
Rutherford, Riaz takes off a heist … with a little help
At the fall of wicket Haider, Zalmi still needed 68 runs in 35 balls. Steyn finished 15th by surrendering just five and moved the Gladiators momentum move after Cutting cut hold on Malik lbw in the 16th. That put the Gladiators in the driver’s seat with Zalmi needing 41 off 18.
Rutherford, however, then struck two sixes in a row off 18th Hasnain over to bring the equation down to 27 off 12 as the player lost his slot. The win was still with Zalmi as Steyn prepared for the 19th bowling, but he was sent off packing for three sixes, one by Rutherford and two by Riaz.
That made it a run-to-ball show for Zalmi off the last one. Hasnain got a yorker in to fire Riaz and Mahmood ran out for the first ball duck, but then delivered the wide young archer who went for four, effectively taking the lead. game to end.
Needing 1 off four balls, Rutherford shook a scratch through the covers to seal Zalmi’s win with three balls remaining. Rutherford finished with 36 off 18 balls but it was Haider who collected the Player-of-the-Match award for his half-century in a winning streak.
Sreshth Shah is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo