Zalmi cruise past Sultans to stay alive in PSL race

Peshawar Zalmi, powered by their bowlers’ fine performance and Saim Ayub’s solid 49, romped to their fourth win of the season to stay alive in the HBL PSL X. They overwhelmed Multan Sultans by seven wickets in a crucial match at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Monday night.

Zalmi moved to eight points from eight matches.

Set a modest target of 109, Zalmi had little trouble chasing it down, reaching the finish in 13 overs for the loss of three wickets.

Saim Ayub smashed a 33-ball 49, including three sixes and four fours. Australian Max Bryant, dropped by David Willey in the slips off spinner Faisal Akram, remained unbeaten on 38 off 20 balls with five fours and a six, while Mohammad Haris added an unbeaten seven.

Sultans skipper Mohammad Rizwan said the pitch initially played well but later began assisting spinners. He noted that poor fielding made it difficult for the bowlers to defend the total.

He praised young pacer Shahid Aziz for his performance, saying, “He is a good talent and he showed that today.”

After Mitchell Owen fell early for 1, Saim Ayub dominated a 49-run second-wicket stand with skipper Babar Azam, who was clean bowled by Shahid Aziz for 8 off 13 balls. Babar hit one four.

Shahid Aziz returned figures of 2-17 in three overs, while David Willey took 1-9 in his only over.

Earlier, Multan Sultans posted another poor batting display, bowled out for 108. They became the first team in PSL history to be dismissed for under 120 four times in a single season.

Despite a good batting surface, Sultans failed to deliver. Their shot selection was poor, and the side appeared disjointed, having already crashed out of the tournament with seven losses from eight matches heading into this game.

West Indies’ Shai Hope, who has struggled this season, top-scored with 23 off 21 balls, hitting two fours and a six. Tayyab Tahir contributed 22 off 18 with similar boundaries.

Openers Mohammad Rizwan (17) and Yasir Khan (10) failed to make an impact. Saim Ayub gave Zalmi an early breakthrough by removing Yasir for a run-a-ball 10 in his first over. Luke Wood then dismissed Rizwan, who skied a slog sweep and was caught by Ahmad Daniyal at deep backward square leg. Rizwan had hit three fours in his 14-ball 17.

Mohammad Hasnain was the only other batsman to reach double figures with 11 off 10 balls.

Medium pacer Ahmed Daniyal starred with 3-17 in four overs, while Maaz Sadaqat and Luke Wood took two wickets each.

“We gave our hundred percent as we expected Multan would fight hard,” said Daniyal. “All the bowlers did well, and I just tried to maintain accuracy.”

This was Multan Sultans’ eighth loss of the season, with just one game remaining.

Quetta Gladiators lead the points table with 11 points from eight matches. Defending champions Islamabad United are second with 10 points, followed by Karachi Kings (10 points) and Lahore Qalandars (9 points).