Lahore Qalandars 171 for 5 (Hafeez 74*, Mahmood 3-41) beat Peshawar Zalmi 170 for 9 (Malik 39, Viljoen 37, du Plessis 31, Dilbar 3-33) by five wickets
Lahore Qalandars knocked out Peshawar Zalmi after a brilliant run-chase set up by the veteran Muhammad Hafeez. Lahore has now won six of their last eight matches and just a step away from making it to the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Chasing 171 in their first playoff game ever Qalandar were in a spot of bother as Saqib Mahmood, on his PSL debut reduced them to 33 for 3. Hafeez and Ben Dunk provided the much-needed stability and added 55-runs for the fourth wicket before Ben Dunk gave a simple catch to Braithwaite.
Samit Patel joined Hafeez and knitted a crucial partnership. He scored 20 and got out playong a shot that was not needed. At the time match was still in balance as Lahore required 41 in the last four overs. But Hafeez, who is in the form of his life, unfazed by the situation guided his team to victory with an over to spare. He finished with 74 off 46 with nine boundaries and three sixes. Wiese deposited the last two balls from Wahab in the stands to complete an emphatic win for his side.
Earlier, Peshawar were asked to bat first. Lahore seamers kept the lid on the scoring rate. Shaheen swung the ball and created problems while Haris hurried on to the batsmen with his pace. The experienced Shoaib Malik (39) and Faf du Plessis (31) held the innings together in the middle overs but got out just before they could change gears.
After Malik’s dismissal, Zalmi lost quick wickets and were reduced to 133 for 8 in the 18th over but Hardus Viljoen blitz, in the end, ensured that Zalmi reached a respectable target. He scored 37 off 16 with three sixes and three boundaries.
Shaheen just went for 19 runs in his 4 overs. Dilbar was good with his change of pace and bagged three scalps. Haris who started well was taken for runs in the final half of the innings. Overall, it was a good bowling performance from the Qalandars.
Peshawar Zalmi are now out of the tournament while Qalandars will now face Multan Sultans in the second eliminator which will be played on Sunday to book their place in the final on November 17.
