Daily Times

RAWALPINDI: The March 15 Qualifier will be a repeat of the Pakistan Super League-7 final between Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans after Peshawar Zalmi overcame Islamabad United by 13 runs in a thrilling 29th match of the PSL-8 at the Pindi Cricket Stadium here on Sunday afternoon. Peshawar suffered a middle-order collapse to stutter to 179 for eight and then overcame Faheem Ashraf’s late charge to dismiss Islamabad for 166 in 19.4 overs. The result meant Islamabad and Multan finished their league matches on 12 points each. However, Multan were placed second and Islamabad third on net run-rate, meaning Multan will meet table-toppers and defending champions Lahore on March 15 in the Qualifier and Islamabad will again take on fourth-placed Peshawar in Eliminator-1 on March 16. The winners of the March 15 Qualifier will progress to the March 19 final, while the losing side will have another opportunity to earn a place in the final when they will take on the winners of the March 16 Eliminator-1 in Eliminator-2 on March 17. After Islamabad United’s top and middle-order made a mess of a straightforward run-chase by slipping from 65 for three to 111 for eight, No.8 batter Faheem Ashraf came to the party and slapped four sixes and two fours in a 13-ball 38 to give his side some hope. With 21 runs required in the final over, Faheem struck a six off the second ball to bring the target down to 14 from four balls. However, Khurram Shahzad castled Faheem and Fazalhaq Farooqi off successive deliveries to seal a memorable win for Peshawar. Earlier, Mohammad Haris and Bhanuka Rajapaksa put on 115 runs in 58 balls for the second wicket to put Peshawar on course for another colossal total. But the Strategic Timeout turned things on its head as Islamabad roared back to capture seven wickets for 63 runs to restrict Peshawar Zalmi to 179 for eight.

Brief scores:

Match 29 -Peshawar Zalmi beat Islamabad United by 13 runs

Peshawar Zalmi 179-8, 20 overs (Mohammad Haris 79, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 41; Hasan Ali 3-39, Shadab Khan 2-42) vs Islamabad United 166, 19.4 overs (Faheem Ashraf 38, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 33, Shadab Khan 25; Khurram Shahzad 3-13, Sufiyan Muqeem 3-37, Jimmy Neesham 2-23, Aamer Jamal 2-28)

Player of the match – Mohammad Haris (Peshawar Zalmi).