Peshawar Zalmi gained victory as Will Smeed’s century went down the drain

Analysis Knight Rider

Peshawar Zalmi gained victory as Will Smeed’s century went down the drain

Peshawar Zalmi gained victory as Will Smeed’s century went down the drain
The leggie Usman Qadir inflicted a lot of damage in the 22nd match of PSL 2022 as Peshawar Zalmi gained two more points after winning a blockbuster against the Quetta Gladiators. Peshawar Zalmi had won the toss and elected to bat at the Gadaffi Stadium in Karachi early in the day. With the removal of Hazratullah Zazai, Naseem Shah made an early breakthrough. In the same over, Liam Livingstone joined him, leaving the Peshawar Zalmi at 6 for 2 wickets. In the seventh over, Mohammad Haris and senior Shoaib Malik formed a combination that helped Zalmi reach 50 runs.

Malik continued his fine run with Hussain Talit at the other end after Haris was removed for 29. Talat, especially, was bold, scoring 51 off 33 balls, while Malik also reached his half-century. Ben Cutting's 36 off 14 balls, though, helped the squad to a large total of 183 in the end, as the Australian smacked four sixes in his innings. Naseem concluded the innings with a four-wicket haul and was the most impressive bowler for Quetta Gladiators.

On the other hand, the Quetta Gladiators, who were chasing a challenging score, got off to a shaky start, losing two wickets in four overs for just 29 runs. Will Smeed led the innings from one end, while Sarfaraz Ahmed provided solid assistance to establish a vital partnership. Nevertheless, Sarfaraz was dismissed for 25 by Talat at the 82-run mark, leaving the Quetta Gladiators in a state of chaos. Ifthikar, Sohail Tanvir, and the rest of the team were quickly removed, leaving Smeed to lead his team home. The run chase was hampered by Usman Qadir's three-wicket haul, while Smeed attacked the bowlers from one end. With 31 runs needed in three overs, Smeed was removed one run short of a well-deserved century. While the wicket kept dropping at the other end, the English batter hit three sixes and 12 fours.

The Gladiators lost by 24 runs in the end, with Salman Irshad and Sohair Tanvir limiting the run flow in the final overs. With this victory, the Peshawar Zalmi have boosted their net run rate and climbed into fourth place with four wins in eight matches.