Injured Sammy propels Peshawar to thrilling win in HBL PSL

SHARJAH: An innings of 16 runs from four balls is not really that unusual in the Twenty20 format but the one played by Darren Sammy on Thursday night here at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium will go down in the annals of HBL Pakistan Super League history as one of the most fantastic ones.It was not just because of the timing — Peshawar Zalmi were in serious trouble when Sammy limped in — but also the circumstances in which the skipper delivered, literally on one leg.

Sammy was injured while bowling in the first innings and shouldn’t have been forced to bat because at one points in time Peshawar were cruising in their chase of 142. Victory should have come easy when the seasoned duo of Mohammad Hafeez (29) and Tamim Iqbal (36) put on a 54-run partnership and all that Peshawar needed were 35 runs from the last seven overs. But the fall of Hafeez in the 16th over and Tamim’s in the next left Sammy with no other option but to take matters in his own hands. He could barely walk but still hammered two sixes off successive deliveries and then hit a four to seal victory with two balls to spare.

Agencies add: 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.

Quetta and Peshawar each have two wins in four after today’s breathless finish, and sit third and fourth on the table respectively, separated only by net run-rate.

Peshawar Zalmi won toss

Quetta Gladiators

Asad Shafiq c Sabbir b Sameen 9

S R Watson b Khalid 47

Umar Amin c Wahab b Sammy 11

K P Pietersen c Asghar b Sammy 5

R R Rossouw c Sabbir b Umaid 37

*†Sarfraz Ahmed b Wahab 17

M Nawaz c Sabbir b Umaid 3

Anwar Ali hit wicket b Wahab 3

J W Hastings not out 5

Hasan Khan not out 1

Extras (lb 1, nb 1, w 1) 3

Total (8 wickets; 20 Overs) 141

Did not bat: Rahat Ali

Fall: 1-10, 2-60, 3-67, 4-83, 5-125, 6-130, 7-132, 8-135

Bowling: Sameen 4-0-20-1; Umaid 4-0-18-2; Asghar 2-0-35-0; Wahab 4-0-16-2; Sammy 2.4-0-21-2; Khalid 3-0-27-1; Smith 0.2-0-3-0

Peshawar Zalmi

Tamim Iqbal run out 36

†Kamran Akmal c sub (Green) b Watson 10

D R Smith b Nawaz 23

M Hafeez c Hasan b Hastings 29

Sabbir Rahman c Umar b Rahat 11

Khalid Usman not out 7

*D J G Sammy not out 16

Extras (lb 2, w 9) 11

Total (5 wickets; 19.4 Overs) 143

Did not bat: Sameen Gul, Umaid Asif, Wahab Riaz, M Asghar

Fall: 1-23, 2-53, 3-107, 4-112, 5-125

Bowling: Anwar 3.4-0-37-0; Watson 4-0-16-1; Rahat 4-0-35-1; Hastings 4-0-25-1; Nawaz 3-0-17-1; Hasan 1-0-11-0

Result: Peshawar Zalmi won by 5 wickets

Man of the Match: D Sammy (Peshawar Zalmi)

Umpires: T Robinson (England) and Aleem Dar (Pakistan). TV Umpire: Ahmed Shahab (Pakistan). Reserve Umpire: Rashid Riaz (Pakistan)

Today’s Fixtures

Quetta Gladiators v Multan Sultans

04:30 pm PST

Lahore Qalandars v Peshawar Zalmi

09:00 pm PST