PSL 10: Faheem’s five-for dismantles Zalmi as Gladiators cruise to big win

LAHORE: Faheem Ashraf’s fiery five-wicket haul and a dominant all-round display powered Quetta Gladiators to a commanding 64-run victory over Peshawar Zalmi in their Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 encounter at Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.

Chasing a 179-run target, Zalmi’s batting unit unfolded on a meagre 114 in 15.2 overs.

Middle-order batter Hussain Talat waged a lone battle for Zalmi with a 34-ball 39, laced with four fours and two sixes, before falling victim to Abrar Ahmed in the 15th over.

Besides him, skipper Babar Azam (12), Mohammad Haris (17) and Mitchell Owen (15) were the other batters to amass double figures, depicting Zalmi’s against Gladiators’ pace-laden bowling attack.

Faheem was the standout bowler for the Gladiators, taking five wickets for just 33 runs in his 3.2 overs, followed by Khurram Shahzad with two, while Mohammad Amir, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Wasim shared three between them. 

Earlier, Alzarri Joseph led a stellar bowling performance, claiming 3/33 to help his side restrict Quetta Gladiators to 178/7.

The Gladiators got off to a decent start to their innings as their opening pair of Finn Allen and Saud Shakeel yielded brisk 46 runs.

Allen, who was the core aggressor of the opening was the first to depart as he fell victim to Alzarri Joseph on the third delivery of the fifth over. He scored 31 off 16 deliveries with the help of four fours and two sixes.

Shakeel was then involved in another important partnership for the Gladiators when he knitted 45 runs for the second wicket with Rilee Rossouw before Saim Ayub dismissed both set batters in his successive overs, bringing the total down to 105/3 in 11.2 overs.

The skipper struck five fours on his way to a 26-ball 32, while Rossouw made 27 off 18 deliveries, hitting as many boundaries.

Following the back-to-back blows, Kusal Mendis and Mark Chapman stitched an anchoring 39-run partnership for the fourth wicket until Joseph got the former caught behind in the 17th over.

Mendis scored 32 off 27 deliveries with the help of five boundaries.

Chapman, on the other hand, fell victim to Luke Wood in the final over after top-scoring for the Gladiators with a 33 off 26 deliveries, laced with three boundaries.

Azlarri Joseph was the standout bowler for Zalmi, taking three wickets for just 33 runs in his four overs, followed by Ayub with two, while Wood chipped in with one scalp.

Earlier, Peshawar Zalmi decided to bowl first after winning toss against Quetta Gladiators.

Squads

Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam (c), Saim Ayub and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (all platinum), Mohammad Haris, George Linde and Mohammad Ali (both diamond), Hussain Talat, Nahid Rana and Abdul Samad (all gold), Arif Yaqoob, Mehran Mumtaz, Sufiyan Muqeem and Najibullah Zadran (all silver), Ali Raza and Maaz Sadaqat (both emerging), Mitchell Owen, Ahmed Daniyal, Alzarri Joseph and Ihsanullah (all supplementary).

Quetta Gladiators: Finn Allen, Faheem Ashraf and Mark Chapman (all platinum), Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir and Rilee Rossouw (all diamond), Akeal Hossein, Mohammad Wasim Jr and Saud Shakeel (all gold), Khawaja Nafay, Usman Tariq, Haseebullah Khan and Khurram Shahzad (all silver), Kyle Jamieson and Hasan Nawaz (both emerging), Mohammad Zeeshan, Danish Aziz, Kusal Mendis and Sean Abbott (all supplementary).