Daily Times

LAHORE: Swashbuckling South African batsman David Miller and veteran Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal set the tone with the brilliant half-centuries before the bowlers found their rhythm to give the Peshawar Zalmi an emphatic 61-run win over the Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) VI clash at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night. Put into bat, Peshawar made 197 for five, thanks to opener Kamran’s 37-ball 59 (six fours, two sixes) and Miller’s majestic 73 off 46 balls (six fours and four sixes). Despite losing two early wickets, Kamran and Miller formed a solid partnership as they put Peshawar to the sword with their 125-run third-wicket stand off just 72 balls. Rovman Powell (42 not out off 19 balls, one four, five sixes), the hard-hitting West Indian, then came up with a six-hitting exhibition to help Peshawar post a massive total on the board. Barring Khurram Shahzad (4-0-22-1), none of the Quetta bowlers were able to make an impact with Zahid Mahmood being the most expensive one, giving away 53 runs in three overs. In reply, Quetta made a fine start with openers Saim Ayub (35) and Usman Khan (28) putting on 62 runs in eight overs. But when Fabian Allen got the breakthrough by removing Usman, Quetta suffered a batting collapse as Mohammad Irfan turned the screw with a three-wicket spell. Peshawar moved up to the third spot in the points table with eight points. And Quetta remained at the bottom with just two points from seven matches.
Brief scores:
19th match – Peshawar Zalmi beat Quetta Gladiators by 61 runs
Peshawar Zalmi 197-5, 20 overs (David Miller 73, Kamran Akmal 59, Rovman Powell 43 not out; Mohammad Nawaz 2-33) vs Quetta Gladiators 136-9, 20 overs (Sarfaraz Ahmed 36 not out, Saim Ayub [concussion substitute for du Plessis] 35, Usman Khan 28; Mohammad Irfan 3-27, Umaid Asif 2-17, Wahab Riaz 2-20)
Player of the match – David Miller (Peshawar Zalmi).