LAHORE: Brilliant Kamran Akmal led a batting carnage with the quickest half-century in the HBL Pakistan Super League history on Wednesday as defending champions Peshawar Zalmi upstaged Karachi Kings in the second eliminator at the Gaddafi Stadium by 13 runs to qualify for the final.

After posting 170-7 in a match restricted to 16 overs, Peshawar contained Karachi to 157-2 and thereby made Sunday’s title-deciding fixture against Islamabad United at the National Stadium in Karachi.

Babar Azam (63 off 45 balls, six fours and two sixes) and Joe Denly (unbeaten 79 from 46 balls, nine fours and four sixes) shared a second-wicket partnership of 117, but Peshawar won quite comfortably as Karachi were always behind the required run-rate of 10.69 all through the chase.

Zalmi will face Islamabad United for PSL title in Karachi on Sunday

Kamran — who according to Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur is not in the national team’s plans for the three-match T20 series against the West Indies next month — played the innings of the match. He bludgeoned eight sixes and five fours in making 77 from 27 deliveries after reaching the half-century in 17 balls to eclipse Islamabad United opener Luke Ronchi’s 19-ball effort in the qualifier against Karachi in Dubai last Sunday.

The pugnacious right-hander overtook Ronchi’s 383-run mark by finishing on 424 runs to reclaim the top spot in the batting chart as he dominated the highest opening partnership in the ongoing tournament while adding 107 with Andre Fletcher, bettering the unbroken 104-run stand he and Tamim Iqbal registered against Lahore Qalandars at Sharjah on March 3.

Mohammad Amir, leading Karachi in this game after Imad Wasim failed to recover from the neck injury sustained last week and which forced the Pakistan all-rounder to miss three games on the trot, opted to bowl first after winning the toss. Kamran and Fletcher launched a brutal onslaught straightaway.

Fletcher was caught on the boundary by Denly after striking 34 off 30 balls with the aid of three fours and two sixes. Kamran sliced a catch in the covers in the 10th over after entertaining the packed house to a superlative array of strokes.

At one point Peshawar were on course for a bigger total, but Karachi pegged them back through Amir, who was brilliant in giving only 16 runs on four overs. Ravi Bopara captured three wickets for 35 runs in three overs while Usman Khan Shinwari, in contrast, was taken to the cleaners as the Pakistan left-armer conceded 48 runs in three overs.

Karachi were excellent in the death overs and even took a team hat-trick as Tymal Mills dismissed Sammy (13) and Wahab (0) while in between those wickets Saad Nasim was run out.

Scoreboard

PESHAWAR ZALMI:

Kamran Akmal c Mukhtar b Bopara 77
A.D.S. Fletcher c Denly b Bopara 34
L.A. Dawson c Ingram b Usman 13
Mohammad Hafeez c and b Bopara 13
D.J.G. Sammy c Denly b Mills 23
Saad Nasim run out 2
Wahab Riaz c Denly b Mills 0
C.J. Jordan not out 0
Hasan Ali not out 0

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-2, W-4, NB-1) 8

TOTAL (for seven wkts, 16 overs) 170

FALL OF WKTS: 1-107, 2-120, 3-137, 4-150, 5-169, 6-169, 7-169.

DID NOT BAT: Umaid Asif, Sameen Gul.

BOWLING: Mohammad Amir 4-0-16-0 (3w); Usman Khan Shinwari 3-0-48-1 (1nb, 1w); Mills 3-0-23-2; Bopara 3-0-35-3; Usama Mir 2-0-29-0; Danish Aziz 1-0-16-0.

KARACHI KINGS:

Mukhtar Ahmed c Sammy b Sameen 1 J.L. Denly not out 79
Babar Azam c Dawson b Hasan 63
C.A. Ingram not out 5

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-2, W-2, NB-1) 9

TOTAL (for two wkts, 16 overs) 157

FALL OF WKTS: 1-13, 2-130.

DID NOT BAT: R.S. Bopara, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, T.S. Mills, Usama Mir, Usman Khan Shinwari.

BOWLING: Hasan Ali 4-0-41-1; Sameen Gul 3-0-20-1 (1w); Jordan 3-0-27-0; Wahab Riaz 3-0-36-0 (1nb); Umaid Asif 3-0-27-0 (1w).

RESULT: Peshawar Zalmi won by 13 runs.

UMPIRES: Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and Shozab Raza (Pakistan).

TV UMPIRE: Asif Yaqoob (Pakistan).

MATCH REFEREE: Mohammad Anees (Pakistan).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Kamran Akmal.

FINAL: Islamabad United vs Peshawar Zalmi (Karachi, Sunday, 7:00pm PST).

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2018