Daily Times

Babar Azam’s quickfire half-century, followed by a ruthless bowling effort led Peshawar Zalmi to crush Quetta Gladiators by 76 runs in the 25th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9 here at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Set to chase 197, the Gladiators’ batting unit unfolded on a meagre 120 despite a solid opening stand. Their openers Saud Shakeel and Jason Roy came out all guns blazing, smashing the ball all around the ground until Mehran Mumtaz struck in the fifth over.

The youngster dismissed Saud, who scored a quickfire 24 off 12 deliveries, laced with two boundaries and two sixes.

His dismissal opened the floodgates and the Gladiators lost four more wickets in quick succession, losing half of their side with 76 runs on the board in 10.4 overs. Akeal Hosein (14) and Omair Bin Yousuf (10) offered minor resilience with their 21-run partnership before both perished. Later, Mohammad Amir (13) offered a brief fight with his short cameo before Khurram Shahzad dismissed Abrar to sweep off the tail.

For Zalmi, Mehran Mumtaz, Saim Ayub, Luke Wood and Shahzad bagged two wickets each while Naveen-ul-Haq and Aamer Jamal took one apiece. Put into bat first, Peshawar Zalmi registered a formidable total on the board, courtesy of Babar Azam’s half-century.