Despite top-order collapse, Misbah and Sammy steer Zalmi to victory against Qalandars in PSL clash

Published March 5, 2019
Misbah who led Zalmi in the run chase with a 59-run knock was awarded the Player of the Match. — PSL Twitter
Misbah who led Zalmi in the run chase with a 59-run knock was awarded the Player of the Match. — PSL Twitter
Lahore Qalandars were without their superstar batsman AB de Villiers who has been ruled out for the rest of PSL 2019. — PSL
Lahore Qalandars were without their superstar batsman AB de Villiers who has been ruled out for the rest of PSL 2019. — PSL
Lahore Qalandars were without their superstar batsman AB de Villiers who has been ruled out for the rest of PSL 2019. — PSL
Lahore Qalandars were without their superstar batsman AB de Villiers who has been ruled out for the rest of PSL 2019. — PSL

Peshawar Zalmi beat Lahore Qalandars by four wickets in their 2019 Pakistan Super League clash in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

In what should have been a straightforward run chase, Zalmi faltered early, losing half their side for just 20 runs.

However, Misbah-ul-Haq with 59 runs and Zalmi skipper Darren Sammy (46) stabilised the ship and undid much of the damage copped at the start of their innings, leading their team to victory in pursuit of the 125-run target set by the Qalandars.

As a result of the win, Zalmi have qualified for the 2019 PSL playoffs.

Lahore Qalandars innings

Earlier, an excellent bowling performance by Peshawar Zalmi restricted Lahore Qalandars to a lowly total of 124-7 in their allotted 20 overs in what was almost a must-win game for the latter.

The Qalandars lost the toss and were put in to bat by Zalmi. The injury-plagued Lahore side, playing for the first time without their superstar batsman AB de Villiers, lost both their openers early and thus struggled for runs.

This can be signified by the fact that they had just 86 runs on the board when they lost their fifth wicket in the 15th over. Haris Sohail (43 off 33) and Umair Masood (22 off 28) consumed too many deliveries in order to stop the leakage of wickets.

David Wiese tried to do some damage later in the innings but his 16-ball 26 could only boost the total so much.

Peshawar Zalmi innings

Zalmi started their innings, in pursuit of the 125-run target, with an early loss of wickets. At one point, Zalmi were 20-5.

Much of the destruction was done by the excellent Shaheen Shah Afridi, who took three wickets. Rahat Ali, D Wiese and Ryan ten Doeschate each picked up a wicket for Lahore.

Misbah, who led Zalmi in the run chase with a 59-run knock, was awarded the Player of the Match. He was accompanied in undoing the initial damage by Sammy (46).

With just one ball remaining towards the end of the thrilling match, Zalmi beat the Qalandars by four wickets.

Captains' comments

Fakhar Zaman: "We would have definitely bowled first. [This is a must-win game], and for that reason we've made a few changes as well."

Darren Sammy: "We know with the position we're in, it would be good to finish in the top two."

Lineups

Lahore Qalandars: 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Anton Devcich, 3 Haris Sohail, 4 Ryan ten Doeschate, 5 Sohail Akhtar, 6 David Wiese, 7 Umair Masood, 8 Rahat Ali, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Sandeep Lamichhane, 11 Haris Rauf

Peshawar Zalmi: 1 Kamran Akmal, 2 Imam ul Haq, 3 Misbah ul Haq, 4 Umar Amin, 5 Liam Dawson, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Tymal Mills, 11 Sameen Gul

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