Ton-up Sharjeel takes United to PSL final against Gladiators

DUBAI: A magnificent maiden century in Pakistan Super League (PSL) by Sharjeel Khan proved too good for Shahid Afridi’s Peshawar Zalmi here on Sunday night as Islamabad United registered an easy 50 run victory to reach the final against Quetta Gladiators, scheduled for Tuesday, Feb 23.

Chasing down a massive 177 run target set by Sharjeel’s United, Zalmi were bowled out for 126 with two full overs to go. Kamran Akmal with a 32-ball 45 and captain Afridi with 38 runs off 17 deliveries were the only two notable contributions by the Zalmi batsmen.

For United, spinner Imran Khalid grabbed 4 wickets for 20 and Andre Russell 3 for 37 while Mohammad Irfan, Badree and Mohammad Sami shared a wicket each.

Sharjeel smacked all Peshawar Zalmi bowlers to every corner of the Dubai International Cricket Stadium scoring 117 (62), the first ever century of PSL to lift his side to 176 for the loss of 3 wickets.

It appeared as if Islamabad United did not need other batsmen as the left-hander stole the show showing full array of his talent with the bat, smashing 12 fours and 8 sixes across the ground. Wahab Riaz and Hasan Ali contributed in running him out in the last over. Sharjeel was given the man of the match award for his brilliant batting display.

Here's a look at some of his shots in reaching a 50-ball 100:

Khalid Latif contributed a 20-ball 27 and Dwayne Smith made a slow 19 for United.

Shaun Tait was the only successful bowler among Zami ranks taking two wickets for 35.

Peshawar Zalmi captain Shaihid Afridi had won the toss and invited Misbah-ul-Haq’s Islamabad United to bat first in the third and last playoff of inaugural edition of PSL earlier on Sunday night.

Teams

Peshawar Zalmi: Mohammad Hafeez, D Malan, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Yousuf, Brad Hodge, Shahid Afridi (c), Darren Sammy, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Asghar, Shaun Tait

Islamabad United: Sharjeel Khan, Dwayne Smith, Asif Ali, Brad Haddin, Khalid Latif, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Andre Russell, Samuel Badree, Imran Khalid, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Sami