Daily Times

SHARJAH: Quetta Gladiators pulled off a nerve-racking last-over win over Peshawar Zalmi by just one run in the first play-off on Tuesday night here at Sharjah Stadium to qualify for the Pakistan Super League final. Defending a 201-run target, Quetta’s spinner Mohammad Nawaz took three wickets off the last three balls to send a packed 19,000 stadium into a frenzy. Peshawar were cruising along nicely needing just 20 runs in the last three overs after Mohammad Hafeez knocked 77 and Dawid Malan smashed 56. Shahid Afridi – with four sixes and a boundary in a 13-ball 34 – pushed Peshawar to the brink of victory but Quetta kept their nerve to pull off a sensational win. Quetta were lifted to 200-7 by Ahmed Shahzad’s 38-ball 77 spiced with four sixes and seven boundaries while Kevin Pietersen made a rapid-fire 22-ball 40. Quetta now fly to Lahore to play the final on Sunday. The second play-off will be between defending champions Islamabad United and Karachi Kings in Sharjah on Wednesday. The winner of that match will play Peshawar in Dubai on Friday to decide who meet Quetta in the final. The final will be held under tight security after deadly blasts in Lahore. The Twenty20 league was launched last year.