Lahore Qalandars beat Peshawar Zalmi to reach playoffs
Cricket
Gladiators, Kings and United have already qualified for PSL 10 playoffs
RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) – Fakhar Zaman’s half-century, followed by Salman Mirza’s four-wicket haul, led Lahore Qalandars to qualify for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 playoffs with a 26-run victory over Peshawar Zalmi in the rain-reduced match here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
The defeat marked a new low for Peshawar Zalmi as they failed to qualify for the PSL playoffs for the first time in the marquee league’s history.
Earlier, Lahore Qalandars set a target of 150 runs for Peshawar Zalmi in the 29th and decisive match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 10.
Chasing a daunting 150-run target in 13 overs, Zalmi could only manage 123 for the loss of eight wickets.
Lower-order batter Daniel Sams remained the top-scorer for Zalmi with an unbeaten 26, followed by Ahmed Daniyal (24), Abdul Samad (17) and Babar Azam (16), while the rest of their batters failed to amass double figures.
Debutant Mirza was the standout bowler for the Qalandars, picking up four wickets for 31 runs in his three overs. Skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi bagged two wickets, while Sikandar Raza and Haris Rauf chipped in with one scalp apiece.
Peshawar Zalmi won the toss and opted to bowl first. Batting first, Lahore Qalandars scored 149 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in the allotted 13 overs.
For Lahore Qalandars, Fakhar Zaman was the top scorer with 60 runs. Mohammad Naeem made 22, Kusal Perera 17, Abdullah Shafique 5, Sikandar Raza 4, and Asif Ali contributed 18 runs.
From Peshawar Zalmi, Daniel Sams, Ali Raza, and Ahmed Daniyal each took two wickets.
Due to a strong wind in Rawalpindi, the toss was delayed. The match eventually began at 9:45 PM. Owing to rain and poor weather, the match was reduced to 13 overs per side.
Put into bat in the match, reduced to 13 overs per side, the Qalandars accumulated 149/8.
The Qalandars got off to a flamboyant start to their innings as their opening pair of Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Naeem put together 54 runs in just 3.4 overs.
Fakhar was the core aggressor of the opening stand, while Naeem played a supportive role until falling victim to Daniel Sams in the fourth over after scoring 22 off 10 deliveries, laced with three fours and a six.
Fakhar then shared brief partnerships with Abdullah Shafique and Kusal Perera, who made modest contributions with five and 17, respectively.
The Qalandars then lost three more wickets in quick succession setback in the 10th over when Ali Raza dismissed in-form Sikandar Raza on four, bringing the total down to 115/4 in 9.4 overs.
Hard-hitting batter Asif Ali, who walked out to bat at number six, played a brisk 18-run cameo before being dismissed by Ahmed Daniyal, who struck again on the next delivery to send Shakib Al Hasan back for a golden duck.
The Qalandars then suffered a massive blow to their batting expedition when Daniel Sams cleaned up set batter Fakhar on the second delivery of the penultimate over.
Fakhar remained the top-scorer for the Qalandars with a 36-ball 60, featuring 10 boundaries including three sixes.
Following his departure, skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf added 10 more runs to the total until the latter got run out on the final delivery of the innings.
For Zalmi, Sams, Ali and Daniyal bagged two wickets each.
