LAHORE - Peshawar Zalmi secured a narrow victory over Karachi Kings by 2 runs in the thrilling 29th match of the HBL PSL Season 9 at the National Bank Stadium on Monday night.
The match, which went down to the wire, saw Karachi Kings fall just short of their target in a chase that kept fans on the edge of their seats. Chasing 148, Karachi Kings got off to a promising start, thanks to a fiery 41 from Tim Seifert, who struck 8 fours in his 30-ball knock. James Vince also chipped in with 21, but the Kings lost momentum with the quick dismissals of Captain Shan Masood and Vince.
Despite a fighting 39* from Irfan Khan and a cameo from Anwar Ali, Karachi Kings finished at 145/5, just two runs short of their target. Peshawar Zalmi’s bowling attack was spearheaded by Naveen-ul-Haq, who claimed 2-22 while Saim Ayub, Luke Wood, and Aamer Jamal each took a wicket.
Earlier batting first, Peshawar Zalmi set a competitive target of 148, thanks in large part to a masterful innings from Captain Babar Azam, who scored a well-composed 51 off 46 balls. Babar’s knock innings was the cornerstone of Zalmi’s total, featuring 5 boundaries and a six.
Despite a disciplined bowling performance from Karachi Kings, Zalmi’sbatsmen showed grit to post a challenging score on the board. The Zalmi innings received an early boost from opener Saim Ayub, who made a brisk 19 off 18 balls before falling to Zahid Mahmood. However, the momentum slightly shifted towards Karachi Kings when Babar Azam was run out by a sharp combination of Zahid Mahmood and Shan Masood.
Zalmi’s middle and lower order couldn’t make significant contributions, with Mohammad Haris and Haseebullah Khan departing for 13 and 1, respectively. A late push by Aamer Jamal and Luke Wood helped Zalmi to their final tally of 147/6. Karachi’s bowlers shared the wickets evenly, with notable performances from Daniel Sams, Zahid Mahmood, Arafat Minhas, and Hasan Ali.
SCORES IN BRIEF
PESHAWAR ZALMI 147/6
(Babar Azam 51, Rovman
Powell 30, Saim Ayub 19)
beat KARACHI KINGS
145/5 (Tim Seifert 41, Irfan
Khan 39*, Shoaib Malik 22,
James Vince 21; Naveed-ul-
Haq 2-22) by 2 runs.
