Islamabad United Secure a Convincing Win Over Peshawar Zalmi

Muhammad Waqas

Islamabad United: 196/4 (20) | Shadab 80(51), Agha 37(25) | Saim 2/15, Wood 1/34 

Peshawar Zalmi: 167/9 (20) | Jamal 87(49), Walter 33(29) | Shadab 3/41, Hunain 2/25

Islamabad United sealed a comfortable 29-run victory at their home ground.

Chasing the target of 197, Peshawar Zalmi’s innings got off to a disastrous start as their captain Babar Azam was run out on his own call in the first over, courtesy of Alex Hales' direct hit. Naseem Shah further dented Zalmi’s batting line up by removing Saim Ayub on the last ball of the first over. The early blows continued as Rumman Raees got the wicket of Mohammad Haris who played a scoop shot but failed to clear Imad Wasim at short fine leg, leaving Peshawar at 3-3. 

Naseem Shah’s younger brother Hunain Shah was introduced in the 6^th over, and he bowled a double wickets maiden over by dismissing Rovman Powell and Tom Kohler-Cadmore. Peshawar Zalmi found themselves in serious trouble at 18/5 at the end of the powerplay. 

Despite this, Paul Walter and Aamer Jamal showcased resilience, stitching together an admirable 107-run sixth-wicket partnership to revive Zalmi’s hopes. Jamal, in particular, entertained the Rawalpindi crowd with blistering 87 runs off just 49 balls, decorated with six sixes and eight fours. Walter provided valuable support with 33 runs after facing 29 deliveries. 

Shadab Khan completed his 300 T20 wickets by dismissing Aamer Jamal, followed by a team hat-trick. Islamabad United restricted Peshawar to 167/9, defeating them by 29 runs.

For Islamabad United, Shadab Khan got 3/41, while Hunain Shan and Rumman Raees took two wickets each, and Naseem Shah dismissed one batter. 

Earlier, opting to field first, Peshawar Zalmi started off perfectly with Saim Ayub dismissing Alex Hales for a golden duck on the very first ball of the match. Colin Munro tried to recover by hitting four and a six, but it was Saim Ayub once again who claimed a crucial wicket by sending Munro back to the pavilion.

However, Islamabad United did not let the early setbacks discourage them as the skipper Shadab Khan and Salman Ali Agha stabilized the innings with a 65-run partnership for the third wicket. Salman played a brave knock under pressure, scoring 37 runs off 25 balls before falling to Salman Irshad. Shadab Khan continued to lead from the front and scored most of the runs in a vital 68-run partnership with Jordan Cox. He played a tremendous knock of 80 off 51, including six maximums and four boundaries before Luke Wood struck to dismiss him.

Jordan Cox could not accelerate his innings but scored an unbeaten 26 off 20. With Azam Khan’s cameo of an unbeaten 29 runs in 14 deliveries, Islamabad United posted a total of 196/4, feeling that they were almost 20 runs short on the flat batting surface.

For Peshawar Zalmi, Salman Irshad displayed good Yorkers in the death, restricting Islamabad under the 200 mark. Saim Ayub was the most successful bowler with figures 2/15, while Wood and Irshad removed a batter each.

Shadab Khan got player of the match award for his 80 runs and 3 wickets.