Defending champs Islamabad off to winning start in PSL 2
Islamabad United chased down Peshawar Zalmi's target in the last over of the match
February 10, 2017
DUBAI: Wicket-keeper batsman Brad Haddin smashed 73 runs from 39 balls as defending champions Islamabad United chased down 173 against Peshawar Zalmi in the opening match of Pakistan Super League 2017.
Haddin was supported by Dwayne Smith's responsible batting while Shane Watson's slogging, in the end, sealed the deal for Islamabad.
Watson scored two 6's and a four in an over from Junaid Khan to help his side achieve the massive target.
This is Islamabad United's sixth successive win.
Earlier, Zalmi had to suffer an early setback as Hafeez nicked the first ball of the tournament to second slip of Mohammad Irfan’s bowling.
Akmal’s 50 leads Peshawar to 190
However, wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal smashed 88 runs of 48 balls to help his side recover from the early loss.
Kamran Akmal smashed his first ever 50 of the PSL off just 29 balls. Wicket-keeper batsman probably took out all his anger for not being picked in the national team on Islamabad United as he struck several sixes all over the park and took particularly liking for Ajmal’s bowling
However, Zalmi's were unable to keep the momentum up after Kamran's departure as they lost wickets on regular intervals.
Despite the platform provided by Akmal and David Malan, Afridi, Sammy and Haris Sohail couldn't capitalise and got out cheaply scoring 4, 7 and 12 respectively as Zalmi end-up their innings at 190.
Mohammad Sami ended up with impressive bowling figures of 16 for two in his four over while Mohammad Irfan gave away just 27 runs of his four for two wickets.
Haddin steadies Islamabad after jittery start
Islamabad United were off to a jittery start as opener Sharjeel Khan couldn’t negotiate an inswinger from Hasan Ali who trapped the aggressive batsman plumb in front.
Rain delayed play
Unforeseen showers delayed match for a few minutes. Match officials decided to cut the game to 18 overs, with the new target of 173.
Watson slogs it home
Haddin nicked one Kamran Akmal off Chris Jordan, leaving the match in balance. However, slogging from Watson in the death overs sealed the match for Islamabad who have now won six matches consecutively in PSL.
Junaid Khan gave away 52 of his four overs for one wicket while Hasan Ali picked up one for 33 runs.
Haddin was declared player of the match for his match-winning innings.
Match delayed for 46 minutes
The match started after a delay of 46 minutes as the stage created for the opening ceremony couldn't be removed on time.
An official of PCB confirmed to geo.tv that the delay wasn't unexpected, though they hoped that things would be settled down earlier than the time it actually took.
"We actually informed both the teams, broadcasters and other stakeholders at our pre-event meeting about the possible delay as experts were required to unpack the stage," said Usman Wahla, GM International Cricket Operation.
Playing XI
Islamabad United team include Sharjeel Khan, Shane Watson, Dwayne Smith, Misbahul Haq, Brad Haddin, Sam Billings, Imran Khalid, Amad Butt, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Irfan.
Peshawar Zalmi include Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Kamran Akmal, Eoin Morgan, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Darren Sammy, Chris Jordan, Hasan Ali and Junaid Khan.
Head to head
Islamabad United clashed with Peshawar Zalmi thrice in last year’s PSL, out of which Zalmi won two and United won one match.
Peshawar Zalmi won the first clash by 24 runs and the second by 7 wickets. In the third face-off between the two teams, Islamabad United won by 50 runs in the playoffs, eliminating Zalmi from the tournament.
