James Neesham and Rovman Powell rescued Peshawar Zalmi after Mohammad Hasnain’s early destruction with the ball in ninth match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 8.
The two batters scored match-saving 46 runs together as Zalmi beat Quetta Gladiators by four wickets to register their second win in the tournament.
After setting Zalmi a target of 155 runs, Hasnain helped Gladiators start off strongly with the ball by picking up three quick wickets within the powerplay.
Hasnain bagged Mohammad Haris, Saim Ayub and Tom Kohler-Cadmore in quick successions to put Gladiators in the driving seat.
Hasnain bowled brilliantly for Gladiators as he picked up three wickets in his four overs and also bowled a maiden last over.
But, Gladiators lost control after Powell and Neesham took charge of the innings. Powell scored 36 whereas Neesham made highest 37 for Zalmi.
Qais Ahmed, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Nawaz shared a wicket apiece.
Earlier, Iftikhar Ahmed proved himself yet again after he scored a well-fought fifty for Gladiators.
Gladiators, who were put into bat first, lost three wickets for just 37 runs inside nine overs. Their openers had a very slow start after Zalmi bowlers gripped the match in early phase.
Jason Roy (14), Martin Guptill (12) and Mohammad Nawaz (2) were sent packing early as Gladiators were made to face the heat. But, skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and Iftikhar joined hands to utilise their experience and stitched a partnership for the team in the purple jersey.
They both scored 74 runs off 50 balls together before Arshad Iqbal clean bowled Sarfaraz in 17th over. Sarfaraz scored valuable 38 runs including five boundaries.
Sarfaraz’s wicket didn’t put pressure on Iftikhar as he kept scoring for his team. He completed his fourth PSL fifty off just 34 balls.
Iftikhar remained not out on 50, laced with four maximums and two boundaries. In the end, Odean Smith also played a cameo of 25 off 12 balls.
For Zalmi, Usman Qadir bagged two wickets while James Neesham and Arshad shared a wicket apiece.
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