SHARJAH: Kamran Akmal hammered a scintillating knock as Peshawar Zalmi defeated Karachi Kings by 44 runs in the 27th fixture of the Pakistan Super League III at Sharjah Stadium here on Thursday. After deciding to bat first, Peshawar posted 181 for the loss of six wickets, courtesy Kamran’s 75 off 51 with the help of three fours and six sixes. Peshawar were in trouble at the start of their innings. They lost Mohammad Hafeez to Mohammad Amir in the second over, and despite Kamran’s brace of sixes, they could only crawl to 31 for 1 in the Powerplay. At the halfway mark, Peshawar managed to reach only 58 for 2, but Kamran, who was dropped on 32, managed to swing the momentum soon after with some audacious hitting. Kamran was backed up by Saad Nasim, who smashed 35 off 18 balls, and Darren Sammy’s unbeaten 15-ball 36, as Peshawar ransacked 123 runs in the last 10 overs. For Kings, pacer Usman Khan Shinwari claimed three wickets and just gave away 11 runs.
In reply, Karachi only managed to score 138-8 in their allotted 20 overs. Babar Azam was the main run-getter as he scored 66 off 50 balls with the help of four fours and four sixes. Karachi’s chase was not below par: Joe Denly and Colin Ingram played out five and eight balls respectively before departing for ducks even as the Powerplay score read 35 for 2. Babar was the standout batsman with his silken drives and flicks, and notched up his third consecutive fifty. But the target was too steep for him to gun down on his own. Karachi’s scoring rate remained a cause for concern for the most part, and they were striking at less than six runs an over even at the end of 10 overs. There were brief spurts of rousing play, particularly when Shahid Afridi struck four sixes off four successive deliveries he faced. But, he perished for 26 off 8 balls when he holed out to long off off left-arm spinner Liam Dawson, who finished with 3 for 17 in his four overs. Pacers Umaid Asif and Wahab Riaz claimed two wickets each.
Brief scores:
Peshawar Zalmi 181 for 6 (Kamran Akmal 75, Darren Sammy 36 not out, Saad Nasim 35, Usman Khan Shinwari 3-11) beat Karachi Kings 137 for 8 (Babar Azam 66, Liam Dawson 3-17) by
44 runs.
Today’s matches (Friday March 16)
29th match: Peshawar Zalmi v Lahore Qalandars at Sharjah Cricket Stadium at 04:30 PM PST
30th match: Islamabad United v Karachi Kings at Sharjah Cricket Stadium at 09:00 PM PST
Published in Daily Times, March 16th 2018.