Zalmi quash Gladiators by five wickets

KARACHI: Will Smeed’s fine 97 went in vain as Peshawar Zalmi were off to a solid start when they downed Quetta Gladiators by five wickets with two balls to spare thanks to solid batting from Hussain Talat (52) and Shoaib Malik (48*) in their opening game of the HBL PSL 2022 here at the National Stadium on Friday night.

Chasing a stiff target of 191, Zalmi needed 26 off the last two overs. Shoaib Malik hit James Faulkner for two sixes and one four and Sherfane Rutherford also hit the left-armer for a glorious four and the same over yielded 22 runs. And Zalmi needed four in the last over from Naseem Shah.

Naseem bowled the first ball wide, got rid of Rutherford (10) off his next before he bowled a dot ball to Malik. Malik then took a couple off the third delivery before taking a single off the fourth to provide a splendid win to Zalmi.

Set to score a seemingly tough target, Zalmi had an electrifying start. Debutant Yasir Khan set momentum, hammering 12-ball 30 before being removed by Mohammad Nawaz.

Bannu-born Yasir smashed four fours and two sixes. Soon afterwards Mohammad Nawaz also got rid of Tom-Kohler Cadmore for a 16-ball 22, featuring three fours and one six. And Zalmi were 62-2 in six overs.

And it was again Nawaz, who was in the hunt when he had the danger man Haider Ali, when he edged a top spin to keeper Sarfaraz. Haider hit three fours in his 21-ball 19. At this stage Hussain Talat joined Shoaib Maik and the duo added 81 runs for the fourth wicket stand.

It was the Australian pacer James Faulkner who got rid of Hussain following his super 29-ball 52. Hussain, the left-hander, timed the ball well and hammered a few glorious strokes. Hussain, who brought in his fifty off 27 balls, smacked two sixes and five fours in his 29-ball knock fine effort.

In the end, it was Malik who kept his cool to make his side home safely after losing five wickets in the process. Malik struck four sixes and one four in his 32-ball fantastic 48 not out. Mohammad Nawaz was the pick of the bowlers with 3-44 in his quota of four overs. James Faulkner (1-40) and Naseem Shah (1-19) were the other successful bowlers. Will Smeed was declared as man of the match for his glorious batting.

Earlier, England’s rookie batsman Will Smeed and Ahsan Ali shared a century partnership to enable Quetta Gladiators post 190-4. Smeed (97) and Ahsan Al (73) shared 155 runs for the opening stand to enable Quetta Gladiators post 190-4 after being asked to bat first by Shoaib Malik who won a crucial toss.

This was also a record first-wicket stand for Quetta in the PSL history. Smeed, a product of Somerset, showed his class and hammered every bowler with an enviable ease towards all corners of the ground. Smeed, dropped by Sohail Khan off leggie Usman Qadir when on 37, banged four sixes and 11 fours in his fantastic career-best 62-ball feat. Smeed, who was picked by Gladiators as a partial replacement for Jason Roy, completed his fifty off 35 balls when he smashed Sameen Gul for a glorious six. It was Sameen Gul who got rid of Smeed eventually off the last ball of the innings, held by Pat Brown.

Usman Qadir, the young leggie, broke the key opening stand when he had Ahsan Ali after a super knock. Ahsan hit Shoaib Malik for a glorious straight six to complete his fifty off 33 deliveries. Ahsan, dropped on 57 by Imam-ul-Haq off Pat Brown, smashed eight fours and three sixes.

He faced only 46 balls. Ahsan hit Sohail Khan for two fours and one six in the 15th over which fetched 24 runs. It also turned out to be the most expensive over in which Smeed also hit the pacer for a glorious six. Usman Qadir in the same over, in which he got the wicket of Ahsan, also removed Ben Duckett without opening his account. Iftikhar Ahmed was the other batsman removed by Sameen Gul for a run-a-ball eight which included one four. Mohammad Nawaz remained not out on five.

Quetta scored 62 in the powerplay and brought in their 100 in 10.5 overs. However, in the last four overs Zalmi bowled well to prevent Quetta from taking their score over 200. Usman Qadir bowled superbly, picking 2-20 in his quota of four overs. Sameen Gul captured 2-41 in four overs. Sohail Khan conceded 51 runs in his quota of four overs and was the most expensive bowler.