It was a dominant performance from the men in yellow as they handed Islamabad United their first defeat of the tournament. After dismissing United’s long batting line up for just 117, Peshawar cantered home with six wickets in hand to take first spot on the table.
While defending 118, United’s pace bowlers did put up a great show with the new ball and both Zalmi openers were back in the hut by the second over with just 6 on the board. Tom Kohler Cadmore also found it tough to gauge the pace and swing of Hasan Ali and Muhammad Wasim and was trapped in front of the stumps two times with an inside edge saving him on both occasions.
The veteran Shoaib Malik used all his experience and brought some calmness to the proceedings with his methodical batting. He along with Cadmore added 63 runs in 65 balls to give Zalmi the advantage.
The leg spinner Fawad Ahmed finally got the better of Tom Kohler on 46. Haider Ali came and made his intentions quite clear from the first ball by dispatching it for a six. The right-handed batsman hit a quickfire 36 off 18 balls to bring his side close to victory.
Hasan Ali finished with figures of 2 for 14 while Fawad Ahmed and Muhammad Wasim picked up one each.
After inserting United into bat, Zalmi picked up wickets at regular intervals as United crossed the 100-run mark for the loss of six wickets. Only Alex Hales, at the top of the order, played with a degree of confidence and compiled a brisk hand of 41 off 27 deliveries. Shadab Khan was run out after a horrible mix up in the middle.
Hussain Talat was the only other batsman in the top six who crossed the double-digit mark. Asif Ali, lower down the order, also offered some resistance with a 12-ball 19. Eventually, United were bundled out in the 18th over.
After getting hammered in the previous two games, Wahab Riaz was the pick of the bowlers for Peshawar and ended with 4 for 17. He was ably assisted by Englishmen Saqib Mehmood who bagged three while Umaid Asif got one. Zalmi will next face defending champions Karachi Kings on March 3 while Islamabad United will take on Quetta Gladiators on Monday.
