Haddin, Smith lead impressive Islamabad's chase
Islamabad United successfully chased the target of 173 runs with two balls to spare
DUBAI (Dunya News) – The defending champions Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by seven wickets in the opening match of second edition of PSL being played at Dubai Sports City, reported Dunya News. Chasing a revised target of 173 runs in 18 overs, Islamabad United reached home with two balls to spare.
Brad Haddin 73 and Dwayne Smith 55 were the major contributions in the successfull run chase. Brad Haddin was declared man of the match owing to his astounding knock.
Earlier, Islamabad United won the toss and elected to field first in opening match of Pakistan Super League 2017 against Peshawar Zalmi on Thursday.
Misbah-eleven will be fielding first against Zalmis who are being led by Shahid Afridi in Pakistan’s first ever multinational annual cricket franchise of its kind.
Squads:
Islamabad United
Peshawar Zalmi
Darren Sammy (c), Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Wahab Riaz, Muhammad Hafeez, Chris Jordan, Junaid Khan, Haris Sohail, Eoin Morgan, Dilshan, Tamim Iqbal, Sohaib Maqsood, Imran Khan Jr, Iftikhar Ahmed, Hassan Ali, Muhammad Asghar.
Updates:
Islamabad United Innings
Over 17.4 I Score 175/3 (target 173 in 18 overs) I Shane Watson 26*, Sam Billings 7*
Dwayne Smith scored third fifty of the match as he hit eight fours and one six during his knock. The equation before the penultimate over was 26 of 12 balls. Watson hammered Junaid for two sixes and a four in second last over while making it rather easy for the United to chase the target. Dwayne Smith got out of Junaid’s last ball after making a contribution of 55 runs. Only 7 runs were required of Chris Jordan’s last over. Sam Billings was able to wrap-up the chase as he hit a boundary of the fourth ball of the last over. Islamabad United won the match by seven wickets.
Over 15 I 139/2 (target 173 in 18 overs) I Dwayne Smith 48*, Shane Watson 6*
At the end of 11th over, the required run rate jumped to 12 runs per over as the Islamabad United was given a target of 173 in 18 overs. Haddin managed to hit a six of the bowling of Hasan Ali in the twelfth hour of Islamabad United’s innings. Haddin played shots all around the wicket causing frustration among Zalmi’s fans. The thirteenth over proved to be expensive for Zalmi as Haddin hit massive six and two boundaries of Junaid’s third over. However, a blow to Islamabad United’s chase came when Haddin was out caught by wicket keeper Kamran Akmal of the bowling of Chris Jordan. His astounding feat of 73 runs of 39 balls included eight boundaries and three sixes. United needed 34 runs of 18 balls at the end of 15th over.
Over 9.4 I Score 79/1 I Dwayne Smith 29*, Brad Haddin 44*
The introduction of spin by Sammy in the seventh over didn’t prove good for the Zalmi side as Shahid Afridi went for 13 runs in seventh over of the innings. Brad Haddin hit a massive six and a four in Shahid’s first over. Somehow a decent over by Darren Sammy was destroyed by Dwayne Smith as he hit a six of the last ball of the eighth over. The required run rate started soared above 10.50 runs per over at the start of 10th over. The drizzle got heavier at the end of 9.4 overs when the score was 79 for 1 and covers came to stop the play in Dubai Sports city.
Over 5 I Score 36/1 I Dwayne Smith 19*, Brad Haddin 14*
Peshawar Zalmi’s right-arm quickie Hasan Ali was able to provide the first breakthrough as he removed the dangerous Sharjeel Khan in the second over. Brad Haddin also looked promising at the start as he hit several boundaries around the wicket. Both Smith and Haddin were able to take the score to 35 after the end of fifth over. Juanid came strongly in his second over while conceding just two runs.
Over 1 I Score 14/0 I Dwayne Bravo 13*, Sharjeel Khan 1*
Junaid Khan conceded 14 runs in his first over as Dwayne Smith hit three boundaries in the first over of Islamabad United’s innings.
Peshawar Zalmi Innings
Over 20 I Score 190/9 I Chris Jordan 16*, Junaid Khan 0*
The loss of Kamran Akmal after his significant contribution of 88 proved to a huge blow to the Zalmis as they lost the tempo immediately after his wicket. Kamran Akmal was out caught by Misbah-ul-Haq of the bowling of Muhammad Sami. Moreover, Watson was also able to remove Shahid Afridi and Haris Sohail of two consecutive deliveries and thus making it hard for Peshawar side to move the score forward. Muhammad Irfan took the crucial wicket of Darren Sammy as he was caught by Sharjeel Khan in an effort to play MS Dhoni’s helicopter shot. Hassan Ali and Iftikhar Ahmad were also not able to make any contribution to the score. A huge six by Chris Jordan of the penultimate ball was good effort to take the score to 190.
Over 15 I Score 149/3 I Kamran Akmal 88*, Haris Sohail 10*
Shane Watson was able to provide the crucial breakthrough that the Islamabad United were most eagerly looking forward to. David Malan’s unsuccessful attempt to pull the ball resulted in his depart as he was caught at the leg stump by Imran Khalid. Eoin Morgan was completely undone as a magnificent delivery from Saeed Ajmal went through his defence. He departs after scoring just 1 run. Meanwhile Kamran Akmal continued to play shots around the wicket as he reached to 88 not out of 47 balls.
Over 10 I Score 102/1 I Kamran Akmal 59*, David Malin 36*
Both Kamran Akmal and David Malan were the showstoppers at the initial 10 overs of the game as they carried the score to 102 for the last of one wicket. Kamran Akmal’s inning of 59 of 34 balls included 4 towering sixes. The partnership so far was the highest for Zalmis in PSL.
Over 5 I Score 41/1 I Kamran Akmal 25*, David Malan 14*
Kamran Akmal and David Malan carried the innings further with shots all around the wicket as they took the score to 41 for the lost of one wicket. Notable of the partnership was Kamran’s promising innings of 25* not out who showed exceptional with the bat.
Over 1 I Score 1/1 I Kamran Akmal 1*, David Malan 0*
Muhammad Hafeez was caught by Sharjeel Khan of the bowling of Muhammad Irfan by the very first ball of the tournament.
