All-rounders Kevon Cooper and Cameron Delport took three wickets each to help Lahore Qalandars beat a strong Peshawar Zalmi side in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Saturday.

Peshawar Zalmi, at some instances, showed signs of coming back in the game as they pursued a target of 165 runs, but failed to do so as the Lahore bowlers kept the run flow tight and took wickets at the right times.

Earlier, Tamim Iqbal provided a decent start to Peshawar before losing his fellow opener Mohammad Hafeez in the fourth over but contributed 30 off 22 balls before getting dismissed in the seventh over.

Cameron Delport was equally good with the bat as he smashed 78 off 61 balls for Lahore Qalandars in the first innings.

The South African southpaw in a 3rd wicket partnership with Umar Akmal plundered 101 runs at the rate of 9.46 runs per over against a strong Zalmi bowling attack.

Delport hit three sixes and six fours, while Akmal in his 31-ball-52 smashed six boundaries.

Chris Gayle continued his poor run of form for Lahore Qalandars as the flamboyant opener was dismissed for a duck.

Azhar Ali, the Lahore captain tried to provide stability after a poor start along with Delport but he also failed to make a meaningful contribution before falling out to Darren Sammy after scoring 25 off 26 balls.

Zalmi hoped to reclaim the top spot after winning the toss and bowling first against the embattled Qalandars side at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Dawid Malan came back for Zalmi in place of James Allenby while captain Azhar Ali and Adnan Rasool returned for the Qalandars.

Lahore, who were placed at the bottom of the PSL points table with just one victory in five games, by beating a dominant Zalmi side, made it easier for themselves to claim a play-off spot.