Islamabad stun Peshawar to qualify for first PSL final in six years

ISLAMABAD: Impressive performances from Haider Ali and Imad Wasim on Saturday night ensured Islamabad United qualified for their first Pakistan Super League (PSL) final since 2018, beating Peshawar Zalmi by five wickets in the Eliminator 2 of the tournament in Karachi.
Zalmi, who ended up with 185-5 after 20 overs, struck early blows during United’s batting when all-rounder Saim Ayub dismissed Alex Hales and Salman Ali Agha for 1 and 5 runs respectively.
Reeling at 50-4, United got a breather when Azam Khan and Imad Wasim got together to put up a 41-run fifth-wicket partnership, bringing some stability to the team. Luke Wood clean bowled Azam, who scored 22 from 17, to leave United at 91/5, requiring a further 95 runs in nine overs.
“Haider Ali joined Imad in the middle and the duo took it upon themselves to stage the rescue act,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a report.
Ali scored an unbeaten 52 runs from 29 balls, hitting five sixes and two fours while Wasim finished with 59 off 40 balls, hitting nine fours.
United chased the target with one over to spare, ending up with a score of 189/5 at the end of 19 overs. Wasim was awarded the Player of the Match award for his unbeaten half-century.
United pacer Naseem Shah was the pick of his team’s bowlers, finishing with figures of 3/30 from his four overs. He took the vital scalps of Zalmi skipper Babar Azam, Mohammad Haris and Tom Kohler-Cadmore.
Speaking at the post-match ceremony, a disappointed Azam said his team lost the decisive match as they bowled “ordinarily” after the first 10 overs.
“I think we were in a good position after 10 overs. But our bowling after that was very bad. We weren’t up to the mark and we thought we had won the match,” he said.
United will take on former champions Multan Sultans at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi on Monday, Mar. 18, for the PSL 2024 final.