The wait for a team to win a Pakistan Super League game this year while batting first goes on after both Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings came from behind to win in Saturday’s double header.
In the first game of the day, Babar Azam hit a superb 90 runs as the Karachi Kings defeated the Multan Sultans with seven wickets and seven balls to spare.
Sultans got off to a strong start and put on 53 runs for the first wicket, but the stand came to an end when Chris Lynn was caught by Azam for 32. Mohammad Rizwan, the Sultans captain, was the next to go. He mishit an attempted six to long-on, where he was caught by a backpedalling Mohammad Nabi, who halted Rizwan on 43 off 32 balls. Just over 11 overs had gone, and the Sultans were 123-2.
James Vince was the next to go, just two overs later. Vince did well to score 45 off 29 and looked to have settled at the crease but was caught by the South African, Colin Ingram at cover before he could make any lasting impressions with the bat. Sohaib Maqsood added an unbeaten 34 off 27 balls that included three boundaries. When Vince was replaced, the Sultans were 133/3.
The four other batsmen for the Sultans; Rilee Rossouw, Khushdil Shah, Shahid Afridi and Carlos Brathwaite only added 19 runs to the overall total and when the Sultans overs ended, they’d reached a total of 195/6, thanks in part to some questionable bowling from the Karachi Kings that saw 22 extras given.
Babar Azam then put on a masterclass as he hit 90 runs off 60 balls as the Kings cruised towards the Sultans total. Babar’s 90 included a mind-blowing 13 fours with just a single six. The 90 he scored further consolidated his place at the top of the list of highest run-scorers in PSL history.
Azam was ably supported throughout his innings by a talented supporting group that included Sharjeel Khan, who hit 27 from 14 balls before being caught by Mohammad Rizwan. English wicketkeeper Joe Clarke also scored 54 off 26 balls, gaining his 50 with a single driven to long-off, just four balls before his wicket fell to Shahwanaz Dhani’s bowling and a simple Chris Lynn catch.
Colin Ingram added just six in a short spell at the crease, but his was the last wicket to fall at 162/3. A combination of Mohammad Nabi and Azam saw Karachi Kings cruise past the Sultan’s total with a little more than an over to spare.
In the other game of the day, Peshawar Zalmi came from behind to beat Islamabad United in what was a relatively low-scoring game. Islamabad lost the toss and, as has become customary now, were made to bat first. Alex Hales had the most joy with the bat for United, scoring a quickfire 41 off 27 balls as they searched for a quick start. However, they lost their first wicket with just four balls gone when Paul Stirling was bowled by Wahab Riaz.
Phil Salt was the next man to fall, adding just 9 runs before being clean bowled by Saqib Mahmood. At this point, United were 38/2 after four and a half overs, as Hales’ attacking approach wasn’t ably supported by his teammates. Faheem Ashraf and Shadab Khan fell soon after, their wickets separated just by 10 deliveries. Islamabad were 55-4 by the time the captain Khan departed, having added just six runs himself. Hales was the fifth wicket to fall, when he was caught by sub fielder Mohammad Imran at mid-wicket off Mahmood’s bowling.
In fact, only Hales, Hussain Talat and Asif Ali managed to score double figures for Islamabad. Hales’ 46 was over double the next highest score as Talat hit 22 and Asif Ali scored 19 as United were all out for 118 with three overs left spare.
The task at hand looked relatively straightforward for Peshawar Zalmi yet things are relatively simple these days. The innings did in fact get off to a rocky start when Imam-Ul-Haq was dismissed after just three balls, caught by Faheem Ashraf when Ul-Haq miscued his attempted pull shot off Hasan Ali’s bowling. Kamran Akmal was then dismissed just nine balls later, and his dismissal meant Zalmi were stuck on 6-2 after just two overs.
Englishman Tom Kohler-Cadmore produced his second impressive innings of the tournament, scoring a 46 to go hand-in-hand with the 53 he scored against the Multan Sultans. Kohler averaged a run a ball in an innings that included four fours and two sixes, but eventually fell in the 13th over when Phil Salt, the Islamabad keeper got his hands to a thin edge from Fawad Ahmed’s bowling. Kohler-Cadmore will be frustrated he couldn’t make it a second 50 for Peshawar Zalmi in his third appearance but has a bright future moving forward in the discipline.
Shoaib Malik and Haider Ali added a combined total of 65 to the Yellow Storm’s overall score, and those runs, when paired with Sherfane Rutherford’s six off two balls gave Peshawar the runs they needed to get past Islamabad United with a little under three overs to spare.
Both results today mean that we are still waiting to see a side batting first go on to win a game. All eyes now turn to tomorrows fixture between the Karachi Kings and the Lahore Qalandars (14:00 UK time) to see if one of those sides can be the first to buck the trend. With Babar in contention for the Kings, anything can happen.
