RAWALPINDI: Peshawar Zalmi rediscovered their mojo, despite skipper Babar Azam’s struggle for form in this HBL Pakistan Super League season, while it went from bad to worse for the Multan Sultans.
Riding on hard-hitting batting from the top- and middle-order batters, Zalmi kick-started their campaign with a thumping 120–run victory over the Sultans here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
From 5-2 at the start of their innings, Zalmi showed incredible powers of recovery to post an imposing 227-7 after electing to bat thanks to superb knocks from Mohammad Haris (45), Tom Kohhler-Cadmore (52) and Hussain Talat (37) midway through their innings before Mitchell Owen and Abdul Samad provided the late flourish.
Multan’s chase unravelled thanks to a brilliant spell of fast bowling by Ali Raza (4-21) and they were bundled out for 107 in the 16th over — a stark contrast to how they started the match.
Zalmi had also lost their opening two matches and got off to the worst possible start — Michael Bracewell hitting the top of opener Saim Ayub;’s off-stump and Babar being trapped lbw by David Willey. After a duck and one in the first two matches, he could only manage two and burned a review in the process.
But Haris got off with a six first ball and Zalmi got going in Bracwell’s second over — 21 coming off it with Kohler-Cadmore smashing two sixes and Haris hitting another.
They helped themselves to a boundary each in the fifth over and Zalmi were starting to gain momentum.
Haris dispatched Akif Javed for consecutive fours almost 180 degrees away from each other, before cutting a six and flicking a four as Zalmi got 24 off the sixth over to end the powerplay at 69-2.
Kohler-Cadmore then smashed two sixes off Usama Mir in the seventh over; only for Ubaid Shah to end Haris’ 21-ball blitz that featured three sixes and four fours in the next.
It stopped the onslaught but Zalmi still reached the halfway mark of their innings at 106-3 with Hussain joining Kohler-Cadmore.
Kohler-Cadmore reached his 50 off 28 balls in the 13th over but was soon dismissed by Bracewell before Iftikhar Ahmed accounted for Hussain .
But the Sultans’ relief was fleeting as the incoming Owen and Samad tore into their bowling in the last five overs; Zalmi scoring 83 runs.
Owen hit four sixes and a four in his 15-ball 34 before he holed out to Mohammad Rizwan off Willey in the penultimate over while Samad smashed three sixes and four boundaries in a sensational 40-run knock off just 14 balls, falling in the final over of the innings.
The Sultans began the chase well and despite losing skipper Rizwan (15) in the fourth over after a moment of madness — top-edging a Saim delivery — Shai Hope and one-drop Usman Khan took them to 61-1 at the end of the powerplay.
But Hope, who made a run-a-ball 20, fell soon after, holing out to long-on off Arif Yaqoob (3-20) with the incoming Kamran Ghulam also not being able to last long before Ali claimed two wickets in two balls to reduce the Sultans to 84-5.
Michael Bracewell offered a tame return catch to Ali, who then undid Ashton Turner’s woodwork with a ripping inswinger before Sultans’ hopes dipped further when Usman departed after a 22-ball 44 featuring three sixes and four fours when he found Saim at mid-wicket off Arif.
Ali got his fourth wicket when he sent back Iftikhar and Arif dismissed Usama. Willey and Ubaid delayed the inevitable before Owen picked two wickets off five deliveries to end the contest and send the Sultans spiralling to their third defeat in a row.
Scoreboard
PESHAWAR ZALMI:
Saim Ayub b Bracewell 2
Babar Azam lbw b Willey 2
Tom Kohler-Cadmore c Willey b Bracewell 52
Mohammad Haris c Iftikhar b Ubaid 45
Hussain Talat c Akif b Iftikhar 37
Mitchell Owen c Rizwan b Willey 34
Abdul Samad c Iftikhar b Ubaid 40
Alzarri Joseph not out 5
Luke Wood not out 0
EXTRAS (B-6, NB-2, W-2) 10
TOTAL (for seven wickets, 20 overs) 227
DID NOT BAT: Arif Yaqoob, Ali Raza
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-3 (Saim), 2-5 (Babar), 3-84 (Haris), 4-137 (Kohler-Cadmore), 5-143 (Hussain), 6-216 (Owen), 7-222 (Samad).
BOWLING: Willey 4-0-36-2 (1w), Bracewell 4-0-37-2, Akif 3-0-52-0 (1w, 2nb), Usama 4-0-51-0, Ubaid 4-0-40-2, Iftikhar 1-0-5-1.
MULTAN SULTANS:
Mohammad Rizwan c Wood b Saim 15
Shai Hope c Owen b Arif 20
Usman Khan c Saim b Arif 44
Kamran Ghulam c Joseph b Ali 6
Michael Bracewell c & b Ali 3
Ashton Turner b Ali 0
Iftikhar Ahmed c Samad b Ali 2
David Willey c Wood b Owen 13
Usama Mir c Samad b Arif 1 Ubaid Shah not out 3 Akif Javed c Samad b Owen 0 EXTRAS 0 TOTAL (all out, 15.5 overs) 107
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-27 (Rizwan), 2-63 (Hope), 3-70 (Kamran), 4-84 (Bracewell), 5-84 (Turner), 6-90 (Usman), 7-92 (Iftikhar), 8-95 (Usama), 9-107 (Willey.
BOWLING: Wood 3-0-22-0, Joseph 3-0-30-0, Saim 1-0-12-1, Arif 4-0-20-3, Ali 4-0-21-4, Owen 0.5-0-2-2.
RESULT: Peshawar Zalmi won by 120 runs.
Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2025
