Peshawar Zalmi defeats Lahore Qalandars by eight runs on Sunday at the Gaddafi Stadium in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season nine. Rassie van der Dussen of Qalandars scored the first century of the PSL season nine, but it was unable to secure his team’s first victory of the tournament. The South African finished unbeaten on 105 off 52 balls in a chase of 212. Lahore suffered their fifth consecutive loss of the season, while Zalmi won back-to-back games.Van der Dussen played like a lone warrior throughout the chase, with minor support from other hitters. Shai Hope scored 29 points, with Ahsan Bhatti adding 20.
Peshawar Zalmi defeats Lahore Qalandar in a thrilling match
Van der Dussen’s innings featured seven fours and five sixes. He batted at a strike rate of 200. Naveen-ul-Haq got two wickets, while Walter, Luke Wood, and Salman Irshad each claimed one. Earlier, after being called into bat first by Shaheen Afridi, Zalmi’s batting squad dominated the depleted Qalandars’ bowling attack, amassing a significant total on the scoreboard courtesy to a long opening stand.
Zalmi’s openers, Babar Azam and Ayub, attacked the home side and scored 136 runs for the first wicket in just 14.2 overs. Ayub was the main player in the opening pair, with Azam constantly rotating the attack. Unfortunately, the skipper’s anchoring innings culminated in disappointment, falling prey to Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi in the fifteenth.
Azam’s innings consisted of 48 runs off 36 deliveries, including five boundaries. Ayub then teamed with hard-hitting batter Rovman Powell to keep the momentum going. The duo scored 39 runs in 16 deliveries before Afridi dismissed Ayub in the 18th over. Ayub emerged as Zalmi’s highest scorer, scoring 88 runs off 55 balls, including eight boundaries and four sixes.
Following Ayub’s departure, Powell took over Zalmi’s batting campaign, contributing to the total with a quick knock that ended on the penultimate delivery of the innings. Powell’s aggressive innings consisted of five boundaries and two sixes, culminating in a 20-ball 46. Powell received assistance from wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Haris in the latter stages, who finished undefeated with 12 runs off just five deliveries.
