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Wahab Riaz’s best-ever PSL figures lift Zalmi to numero uno position in Points Table

Abhishek Singh

After a nightmarish bowling performance in the previous game against Quetta Gladiators, where he ended up with his worst ever PSL figures (2-54 in four overs), Peshawar Zalmi skipper came back with a bang to achieve his best ever bowling performance to roll over Islamabad United. Riaz, 35, picked up four wickets to break the back of the United batting lineup. He was greatly helped by Zalmi’s English import Saqib Mahmood, who picked three wickets and ended up with figures of 3-12 in 2.1 overs, while Riaz finished at 4-17 in his quota of four overs. 

Chasing a total meagre target of 119, Zalmi were rocked by United’s Hasan Ali who dismissed Imam-Ul-Haq for nought in the very first over. Hasan was supported well by Islamabad’s emerging talent Mohammad Wasim Jr., who got rid of dangerous Kamran Akmal in the very next over. The two bowlers kept it tight for the first four overs, conceding only 11 runs in the first four overs. 

Slowly but steadily, senior Zalmi batsman Shoaib Malik in partnership with Englishman Tom-Kohler-Cadmore started ticking the scoreboard, adding 63 runs in 64 balls for the fourth wicket. When Cadmore was finally removed by a Fawad Ahmed googly in the 13th over, the wicket, instead of being an entry into the game for the United, rather closed the door on them. Because Haider Ali arrived at the crease with six off Ahmed took the game away from United very quickly. He scored an 18 ball 36 and closed in on the target, getting out, just when the Zalmi required three more runs to win. Ali added 47 runs in 25 balls with Malik, who remained unbeaten on 29. 

Earlier in the evening, Zalmi skipper Wahab invited Islamabad to bat after winning the toss. Even after Alex Hales providing a quick strong start, the other batsmen couldn’t accompany him for long. Irishman Paul Stirling, playing his first game became the first of the four scalps of Riaz while Phil Salt failed once again as he was removed by Mahmood. Mahmood's three-wicket haul pushed him to 10 scalps in just four games making him the leading wicket-taker in PSL 6 so far. 

Skipper Shadab Khan got run out and Faheem Ashraf, who was promoted up the order played a loose shot, getting out off a Umaid Asif delivery. Soon Alex Hales (41 off 27) also departed, leaving too much to be done by the likes of Asif Ali, Hussain Talat and Iftikhar Ahmed, all of whom failed on this occasion. 

With this win at the NSK, Zalmi have gone top the table in the league after playing four games. They will next face Karachi Kings on a double header’s day on March 3rd. Riaz, who after conceding 105 runs in his last eight overs, gave his best PSL performance, was awarded Man of the Match.

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PSL 6: With revenge on their mind, bruised Qalandars face rejuvenated Kings

Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings, the teams that played the final in the last season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) would be up against each other in the high octane Sunday clash at the National Stadium in Karachi. While Karachi defeated Lahore in their last meeting and won the PSL for the first time, the bruised Qalandars, from last year’s final defeat as well as from the bashing they got from Multan Sultans in their last game, would be looking to give it back to Karachi this time around. The Qalandars have drafted in Sandeep Lamichhane as the replacement for Rashid Khan and would look to employ the leg spinner to give them some mileage wit the ball. Non-performing captain and lack of spinning option: Lahore' top concerns The Lahore team has got an amazing bowling line-up especially with the kind of form Mohammad Hafeez is in. But the problem for Qalandars has been the lack of form from their skipper Sohail Akhtar who has not been able to get into the groove even in a single of the three games he has played so far. His scores of 14, 21 and 7 have made no contribution to Lahore’ plans and it is disturbing news for the team when the skipper is unable to contribute. The other problem that the Qalandars have faced since the departure of Afghan skipper Rashid Khan for his national duties, is the lack of spinning options. Although Samit Patel and Hafeez can both throw in 3-4 overs of orthodox spin, Hafeez has not been tried so far and Patel hasn’t returned the favours when he was tried. Thus the inclusion of Nepali import Lamichhane might just give Qlanadars the much-needed balance in the side. But along with that balance, they would want their skipper to fire as well. Karachi Kings hope Babar Azam continues on his newfound form Babar Azam the star player of the Kings finally found his original form back as he played a match-winning knock against Multan Sultans in the last game. Now that he is back in form, the Kings would want him to continue his form. With him coming back in form, and Sharjeel Khan announcing his arrival with a century in a game earlier than the last one, the Kings now have a great batting lineup that gives them an advantage over the Gladiators. Imad Wasim’ side would therefore be looking to score anything in excess of 190 runs on the board, even if they lose the toss. They have got the bowling to defend the total and might be the first team to defend a total in PSL 6. Karachi Kings vs Lahore Qalandars: Match Details Match Number- 11 Day and Date: 28th Feb, 07: 30 pm IST, 07:00 pm Local, 02:00 pm GMT Venue- National Stadium, Karachi Broadcast and Live Stream: Sony SIX, Sony LIV Pitch Report A fresh pitch is expected for this game. In the last game at the stadium, the Peshawar Zalmi showed that wickets upfront can put pressure on the batting team and it need not necessarily be a high scoring game all the time. However, the wicket was still good for batting and it was the lack of application from the Islamabad side that led to their downfall more than any role of the wicket. Thus in this game too, a wicket with true bounce, pace and ball coming on to the bat is expected to make it a thrilling, high scoring T20 encounter that the National Stadium in Karachi is known for. Weather Update As it has been for the past 10 games, the weather at Karachi would be ideal for cricket with temperatures hovering between 25 and 20 degrees. The chill in the evening might give some assistance for the fast bowlers early on, but apart from that, with dew settling in later in the evening, skippers left with no option but to bowl first. Probable XI Karachi Kings Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Joe Clarke (wk), Colin Ingram, Daniel Christian, Mohammad Nabi, Imad Wasim (c), Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Amir, Waqas Maqsood, Arshad Iqbal Lahore Qalandars Fakhar Zaman, Sohail Akhtar (c), Joe Denly, Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk (wk), Samit Patel, David Wiese, Ahmed Daniyal, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Maaz Khan DreamXI / Fantasy XI picks Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam (vc), Mohammad Hafeez (c), Fakhar Zaman, Joe Clarke (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Imad Wasim, Arshad Iqbal, Mohammad Amir, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi

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Babar Azam punishes wayward Multan as Karachi continue ‘bat second win match’ streak in PSL 6

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam finally hit form after a long lull period science the end of Pakistan’s England tour, scoring a match-winning unbeaten 91 to take his side Karachi Kings past Multan Sultans. Chasing a tough target of 196, Babar faced early hiccups as he wasn’t able to time the ball properly. Both Babar and his partner were so much cramped for room in the first two overs, that they could only score seven runs from it, with Sohail khan’s out-swinging deliveries going past Babar’s bat quite often. However luck was by the side of the openers as in the third over, Sohail was taken for 18 runs, even without bowling one bad ball as edges flew past here and there giving momentum to the Karachi batsmen. Once they had the momentum, there was no looking back for Babar. Sharejeel though was caught by skipper Mohammad Rizwan off youngster Shahnawaz Dhani in the fifth over. But even after that Babar continued his march towards the total, ably supported by Kings’ foreign import Joe Clarke. The two added 97 for the third wicket, taking the Karachi total to 153 in just the 15th over, killing the game for the Sultans to even try and make a comeback. Colin Ingram the next man in for Kings didn’t have a great time at the crease as he was caught by Dhani off Sohail Khan for just six runs. The formalities were then completed by Babar and Afghan Mohammad Nabi, completing the second win for Karachi in three games. Babar Azam was awarded Man of the Match for his performance. The Karachi batsmen didn’t give any chance to the Multan fielders but the bowling from the Sultans was average, to say the least. When they had got the two openers in a grip at the start of the chase, Rizwan and the bowlers shouldn’t have let them go at any cost. In the middle overs too, experienced Shahid Afridi was very experience and so was Khushdil Shah the part-time left-arm spinner. Between them, they gave away 60 runs in five overs without even taking a single wicket. The pacers too were wayward in their approach, as they kept bowling wither too short or too full for Babar to exploit them. Usman’s Qadir approach towards googly was also deciphered well by the Kings and it resulted in a sad performance overall from the Sultans’ bowler. Earlier in the day, Sultans couldn’t capitalise on the start given by their top-order batsmen. Put in to bat after losing the toss, Rizwan and Chris Lynn started the innings confidently for Multan. The two of them added 53 for the opening stand in just 4.1 overs. Lynn fell down, still, the scoring rate continued to soar as Rizwan added another 70 runs with James Vince, taking the team total to 123 in just 11 overs. But as Rizwan and Vince fell in quick succession, the Sultans lost the plot and could manage to score only 72 runs in the last 50 balls. Arshad Iqbal was once again the pick of the bowlers for Kings, taking two wickets for 36 runs. With this win at the National Stadium in Karachi, the streak of ‘team winning the toss, batting second and winning the game’ has remained intact even after nine games into the tournament. While Karachi have now moved up to the top of the table with four points from three games. Multan though suffered their third defeat in four games and are at second last position in the table.

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Super 50 Finale Guyana vs T&T: Two best teams at group stage square-up each other for bragging rights in West Indies cricket

After 21 days and 18 matches, the premium domestic List-A competition of the West Indies, the Super 50 has finally arrived at its final juncture with the two best teams competing against each other for the final glory. Kieron Pollard led Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel are up against Leon Johnson’s Guyana Jaguars at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua for one last time. While the Jaguars have lost once in the tournament, T&T has remained unbeaten. It has not only remained unbeaten but way ahead of the rest of the teams in terms of the way they have dominated every game. T&T's incredible journey The Trinidad and Tobago team started with a fine victory against Jamaica as they chased down 259 with 10 overs remaining. From there on, they never looked back. They beat the Windward Islands by five wickets in their second game. The only game where they were put in a spot of bother was against Barbados Pride. They lost their top five wickets at 158 while chasing 254 and Jason Mohammad was left with Sunil Narine to steer the ship home and he did by scoring a brilliant hundred. Post that match, they once again got back to their very best, beating Leewards Islands Hurricanes by nine wickets and dismissing Guyana for 187 and then chasing it down in 40 overs, winning the game by six wickets. In the semi-finals. It was a repeat of the first game as Jamaica made a 250ish total and Red Steel chased it down in 42 overs with six wickets in hand. Guyana Jaguars journey The Jaguars started the tournament in a bit shaky manner, getting all out for 235 in 42 overs in their first game against Barbados Pride. However, some tight bowling and rain helped them bag the win by 56 runs with the Duckworth Lewis and Stern method. Post that game, there was no problem for Jaguars as they defeated the Leeward Islands Hurricanes by five wickets and Jamaica by a huge margin of 109 runs before going down to T&T. Moving on from that defeat, Jaguars beat Windward Islands Volcanoes twice, once in their last league game and once in the Semi-Finals to make it to the finals. Players to watch out Jason Mohammed Leading run-scorer in the tournament so far, Mohammed, 34 is the key batsman of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel. In six innings, the Trinidad born has scored 326 runs at a terrific average of 54.33. He has to his credit one century and one-half century and could be the dangerman for Guyana. Gudakesh Motie In the first-class circuit for the past five years, the left-arm orthodox from Georgetown, Guyana has come to his own in this tournament. The Guyanese has so far picked up 16 wickets in six innings with 4/45 being his best. He ha picked up three four-wicket hauls so far. He is going to be the trump card for the Jaguars. Shimron Hetmyer The West Indies middle-order mainstay, Hetmyer knows only one way to play and that is ‘see the ball hit the ball’. He did just that in this tournament hitting two fifties and one hundred, while in the remaining three innings, he struggled to even get past the double figures. With 280 runs in six innings, Hetymyer is the third-highest run-getter in the tournament so far. For Guyana to have any chance of turning the game in their favour, Hetmyer must get going. Evin Lewis The other West Indian who has found form in this tournament is Evin Lewis. The left-hander has so far hit a century and a half-century and has the ability to take the game away from the opposition. In the tournament so far, he has hit 261 runs, although his form in the last few innings hasn’t been good. But a batter of the ability of Lewis is always a danger for the opposition. The final match would begin at 11:00 pm IST and ball to ball coverage would come your way through OneCricket. For details, Click Here.