Islamabad United Beats Peshawar Zalmi, Enters PSL 9 Final

Islamabad United secured a place in the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9 by defeating Peshawar Zalmi by 5 wickets at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi.

In a departure from Eliminator 1, Islamabad United’s captain, Shadab Khan, won the toss and opted to field first. Peshawar Zalmi’s Saim Ayub and Babar Azam opened the innings, facing the new ball from Naseem Shah. Saim kicked off with three consecutive boundaries in the second over bowled by Obed McCoy.

Read more: Shadab Khan Hits Milestone In PSL 9

The powerplay saw Peshawar Zalmi post 59/0, with Saim Ayub reaching 41*. However, Babar Azam fell in the 8th over, caught by Shadab off Naseem’s bowling. Saim completed his half-century in the 9th over, and Peshawar Zalmi reached 98/1 at the midway point.

Peshawar Zalmi continued their aggressive batting, ultimately posting 185/5, with contributions from Aamer Jamal. Naseem Shah proved crucial with figures of 4-0-30-3.

In response, Islamabad United’s Martin Guptill and Alex Hales opened the innings but faced early setbacks, with Hales and Agha Salman departing early. Shadab Khan’s dismissal for a duck further troubled Islamabad.

However, Imad Wasim and Azam Khan steadied the chase, with Imad reaching a half-century in the 18th over. Haider Ali also contributed a significant fifty in the 19th over, guiding Islamabad United to victory with an over to spare.

Despite some economical bowling from Mehran Mumtaz and Khurram Shahzad, Peshawar Zalmi couldn’t contain Islamabad United’s batting onslaught. Imad Wasim was awarded the Player of the Match for his all-round performance, scoring an unbeaten 59 runs and maintaining an economical bowling spell of 4-0-23-0.