Islamabad United win thriller off last ball

SHARJAH: Riding on a match-winning half-century by Dwayne Smith, Islamabad - the defending champions of Pakistan Super League – defeated Peshawar Zalmi by five wickets after a nail-biting encounter to register a third win in the second edition of PSL in Sharjah.

Chasing a target of 137 in 20 overs, Islamabad didn’t get a solid start. While Smith remained defiant at the one end, United’s wickets continue to fall from the other end.

Rafatullah Mohmand, Brad Haddin, Sam Billings and Misbah ul Haq went back to pavilion cheaply as Islamabad lost four wickets with 75 runs on board in 13 overs.

But, Smith remained defiant at other end and got good support from Shane Watson to keep Islamabad’s hunt alive.

Smith smashed four sixes and six fours to remain not out after scoring 72 off 59. Watson scored 30 off 22 before getting run out on penultimate delivery of the innings as Islamabad reached the target on last ball.

Earlier, a disciplined bowling effort by Islamabad United restricted Peshawar Zalmi to 136/9 on a, comparatively, batting friendly track.

Zalmis struggled throughout the match to buildup partnerships as they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. However, some runs by Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz and Darren Sammy towards the end of innings helped Peshawar post a respectable total on board.

Wahab Riaz scored 23 off 13, smashing one sixer and three boundaries while captain Sammy scored 20 off 19 and Shahid Afridi could score 17 off 12.

Eoin Morgan was top scorer for Peshawar Zalmis with run-a-ball 28. His innings included one shot over the boundary line and three hitting the fence.

For Islamabad United, pacer Mohammad Sami got three wickets for 26 runs while Rumman Raees and Shadab Khan got two wickets apiece.

Head to head

United defeated Zalmi by 7 wickets (with 2 balls remaining acc. to D/L method) in the PSL 2017 opener. The match was dominated by Brad Haddin’s quickfire 73 off 39 balls and Shane Watson’s four wickets, which overshadowed rival batsman Kamran Akmal’s 88 off 48 balls.

Playing XI

Islamabad United: Dwayne Smith, Sam Billings, +Brad Haddin, *Misbah-ul-Haq, Shane Watson, Rafatullah Mohmand, Shadab Khan, Amad Butt, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Irfan, Rumman Raees

Peshawar Zalmi: Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Hafeez, +Kamran Akmal, Eoin Morgan, Sohaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Shakib Al Hasan, *Darren Sammy, Junaid Khan, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz