DUBAI: It was the old tale of ecstasy and despair in the final qualifier game as Sharjeel Khan struck a blazing century to help Islamabad United send favourites Peshawar Zalmi crashing out of the HBL Pakistan Super League on Sunday.
Sharjeel slammed a scintillating 62-ball 117 to propel his team to 176-3 before Imran Khalid’s 4-20 snuffed the Zalmi chase out to give Misbah-ul-Haq’s men a convincing 50-run victory and a date with Quetta Gladiators in Tuesday’s final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
The half-full crowd was eager to see Zalmi set a rematch with the Gladiators following their one-run defeat in last Friday’s the first play-off. But Shahid Afridi’s charges were undone by a team which is peaking just at the right time.
And although it was the 23rd game of the competition but PSL’s first century was worth the wait for the sheer quality of the shot-making involved as Sharjeel gave a welcome reminder to the national selectors with a chanceless knock that was laced with 12 boundaries and eight sixes.
Islamabad got just the impetus it needed at the start after being put in to bat. On a night when Dwayne Smith struggled to get the ball of the square, Sharjeel earned comparisons from another West Indian — the stylish Brian Lara.
Zalmi’s bowlers were wayward to start with. Tait slipped the ball down the pads while Hasan Ali was guilty of overcompensating for a non-threatening short ball with another that was too full. The first three overs yielded 26 runs before Afridi’s introduction of spin restricted Islamabad to only 10 from the next three. With Smith scoring only 12 off his first 27 deliveries, the onus was on Sharjeel to take charge in emphatic fashion.
Mohammad Asghar, who had slipped in two overs for five runs, was lifted for a six. The left-arm spinner went fuller a couple of deliveries later and was slog swept for another maximum. Sharjeel was not going to let the spinners dictate terms to him, often stepping out of his crease and going with the arc towards long on and deep midwicket. The next four overs yielded 50 runs, with Sharjeel getting to his fifty off 28 balls. If the first half of his innings was rapid, the second was simply exhilarating. Wahab Riaz, mysteriously introduced into the attack in the 11th over, was slapped past point. Darren Sammy’s slower deliveries were lofted into the empty top-tier stands of the stadium.
But Tait helped pull back the scoring with a couple of quick strikes — Smith (19 off 37 in the opening stand of 108) and Brad Haddin — and should have had a hat-trick had Kamran Akmal not spilled a tough chance from Khalid Latif.
Sharjeel, though, blazed on. Tait’s extra pace was used to upper cut for fours. The century came in style, off the 50th delivery he faced, when he stepped out to blast Afridi straight into the sight-screen. The helmet was yanked, the arms went up and an expression of relief writ large on the face before he was eventually run out.
Zalmi’s response to the chase needed to get off strongly but strangely Mohammad Hafeez was held back to give Dawid Malan and Kamran a license to go all guns blazing. It was a ploy that didn’t come off on a surface that assisted Samuel Badree to get his leg spinners to skid.
Kamran opened up after two quiet overs with 12 off a Mohammad Irfan over while Malan, who played out a maiden off Badree, fell in the leggie’s next over.
Hafeez, denied the extra pace to get going, meandered for 14 deliveries before mistiming a pull off Imran to mid-wicket. With the asking rate going past 11 at the end of the 10th over, Zalmi were left with little to no choice but go for the shots and paid a heavy price. Khalid spun one past Kamran to get him stumped for 45 before removing Brad Hodge and Sammy in one over, effectively ending Zalmi’s run in the PSL. Afridi fought gamely with a 17-ball 38 at the end, but it was too little too late.
Scoreboard
ISLAMABAD UNITED:
D.R. Smith lbw b Tait 19
Sharjeel Khan run out 117
B.J. Haddin b Tait 0
Khalid Latif not put 28
A.D. Russell not out 0
EXTRAS (LB-7, W-4, NB-1) 12
TOTAL (for three wkts, 20 overs) 176
FALL OF WKTS: 1-108, 2-108, 3-171.
DID NOT BAT: Misbah-ul-Haq, Asif Ali, Imran Khalid, Mohammad Sami, S. Badree, Mohammad Irfan.
BOWLING: Hasan Ali 4-0-35-0 (1nb); Tait 4-0-35-2 (1w); Mohammad Asghar 3-0-22-0; Shahid Afridi 4-0-34-0; Wahab Riaz 4-0-31-0 (2w); Sammy 1-0-12-0.
PESHAWAR ZALMI:
Kamran Akmal c Haddin b Imran 45
D.J. Malan c Haddin b Badree 7
Mohammad Hafeez c Asif b Imran 8
B.J. Hodge c sub b Imran 5
D.J.G. Sammy b Imran 9
Shahid Afridi c Smith b Russell 38
Shahid Yousuf b Russell 4
Wahab Riaz c Russell b Irfan 1
Hasan Ali c Misbah b Sami 1
Mohammad Asghar b Russell 0
S.W. Tait not out 0
EXTRAS (B-2, LB-4, W-2) 8
TOTAL (all out, 18 overs) 126
FALL OF WKTS: 1-24, 2-59, 3-66, 4-75, 5-80, 6-100, 7-101, 8-105, 9-126.
BOWLING: Mohammad Irfan 4-0-28-1; Badree 4-1-20-1 (1w); Mohammad Sami 3-0-15-1; Russell 4-0-37-3; Imran Khalid 3-0-20-4 (1w).
RESULT: Islamabad United won by 50 runs.
UMPIRES: Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and J.S. Wilson (West Indies).
TV UMPIRE: Ahsan Raza (Pakistan).
MATCH REFEREE: R.S. Mahanama (Sri Lanka).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Sharjeel Khan (Islamabad United).
Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2016