Sammy wins a thriller for Zalmi on one leg

SHARJAH: Peshawar Zalmi captain Darren Sammy hammered 16 off only four balls and propelled his side to a victory they looked to have all but squandered against Quetta Gladiators in Sharjah on Thursday.

Chasing 142, Peshawar had seemed on course for much of the innings, led by a disciplined- if a little sedate - 54-run partnership between Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Hafeez. But with 35 required off the last five, the partnership was broken, and suddenly the chase went into disarray. The equation turned very quickly into 16 off the last 7 when Sammy, who was injured while bowling, dragged himself out to the crease.

It turned out his devastating physical power was undiminished, as he smashed two sixes off his first two balls, before a straight drive in the final over saw Peshawar clinch victory with two balls to spare.

Quetta Gladiators will rue an innings that kept stuttering at crucial points, beginning with a disappointing Powerplay, before Shane Watson hit Mohammad Asghar for three sixes in an over to breathe some life into his side. He hit five sixes in a 32-ball 47, but after he was dismissed, no one apart from Rilee Rossouw was able to kick on, with 19-year old seamer Sameen Gul - in for an injured Hasan Ali - enjoying a stellar debut. Wahab Riaz was at his all too infrequent best, bowling yorkers at up to 150 kph and preventing Quetta from teeing off in the death overs. It turned out every one of those runs saved made a massive difference.

If Watson and Asad Shafiq, both of whom have been around the block, had taken the attack to them with only two fielders out, it might have tested the young bowlers’ temperament a bit more. Gul and Asif’s eight overs went for only 38 runs and fetched two wickets too, but in truth, they were allowed to settle into rhythm.