Peshawar thumps Islamabad by 13 runs in PSL

Peshawar Zalmi dismantled the batting powerhouse of Islamabad United to round off its league stage of the Pakistan Super League with a 13-run victory on Sunday.

Fast bowler Khurram Shahzad and left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem, two of the six changes Peshawar made in its playing XI, snared six wickets between them to dismiss Islamabad for 166 in 19.4 overs.

Peshawar couldn’t capitalise on Mohammad Haris’ whirlwind 79 off 39 balls and was restricted to 179-8 after regular captain Babar Azam was forced to sit out due to illness.

Peshawar will take on Islamabad in an elimination match on Thursday with the winner taking on the loser of the qualifier between table-topper Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans.

Islamabad finished the league stage with 12 points from six wins but ended up third behind Multan on net run-rate. Peshawar, which has played in all the PSL qualifiers since its inception in 2016, had 10 points from five victories.

Brief scores:

Peshawar Zalmi beats Islamabad United by 13 runs

Peshawar Zalmi 179-8, 20 overs (Mohammad Haris 79, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 41; Hasan Ali 3-39, Shadab Khan 2-42)

Islamabad United 166, 19.4 overs (Faheem Ashraf 38, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 33, Shadab Khan 25; Khurram Shahzad 3-13, Sufiyan Muqeem 3-37, Jimmy Neesham 2-23, Aamer Jamal 2-28)