KARACHI: Peshawar Zalmi outplayed Multan Sultans by six wickets in their Pakistan Super League VI match at the National Stadium here on Tuesday night. Chasing a daunting target of 194, Peshawar raced home for the loss of four wickets. Peshawar were given an electrifying start by openers Imamul Haq (48) Kamran Akmal (37). With departure of Kamran, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, along with Imam, laid the foundation of victory with his fine knock of 53, which included six boundaries and one huge six. Later, Shoaib Malik (11 not out) and Haider Ali (24 not out) finished the job for Peshawar.
Earlier, James Vince’s brilliant innings, 84 off 55 balls, helped Multan made 193, setting a formidable target for Peshawar, after they were put into bat first. It was the highest score of this year’s tournament so far. Mohammad Rizwan and Chris Lynn opened the innings for Multan but Lynn got caught out by Haider off Mohammad Irfan’s ball in only the second over. Vince, who replaced Lynn at the pitch, hit a couple of fours, trying to drive up the score after a slow start. Just as the Rizwan-Vince partnership started to look dangerous for Peshawar, Rizwan got out at 41, caught out by Imam off Mohammad Imran’s ball at the start of the 11th over. The Multan captain had made 71 runs in the last match. Wahab Riaz’s over proved costly for Peshawar as Sohaib Maqsood hit three consecutive boundaries. Vince consolidated his position on the pitch, scoring his half-century off 39 balls — his third fifty in the PSL. Despite brilliant batting, Vince was unable to reach a century, caught out in the 19th over. Vince innings included 09 fours and 03 sixes. Maqsood lost his wicket in the 17th over, caught out by Mohammad Kamran off Saqib Mahmood. Both teams had entered the contest having lost their previous matches. Multan made two changes to their lineup with Usman Qadir coming in for Sohaibullah and Shahnawaz Dhani making his debut.