Final: Peshawar Zalmi vs Islamabad United

Islamabad United crowned HBL Pakistan Super League champion

Karachi March 25: As top quality cricket made a return to Karachi after nine long years, the Islamabad United took centre stage defeating reigning champions Peshawar Zalmi in a thrilling finale to lift the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) trophy for the second time in three years.

Karachi’s National Stadium posed the perfect picture in the biggest game of the tournament as Zalmi’s captain Daren Sammy opted to bat first after winning the toss.

Zalmi’s hopes of a winning total on a perfect batting pitch were dashed early as prolific run-getter Kamran Akmal fell lbw to Samit Patel for one.

Zalmi also lost Mohammad Hafeez cheaply while Andre Fletcher who had hit some big boundaires early on was dismissed as he looked set to post a big score.

The Zalmi middle and lower order failed to make most of the conditions and only a 28 run unbeaten cameo by Wahab Riaz took them to a 148 for nine total in the allotted 20 overs.

The Peshawar side had defended the same score in the HBL PSL 2017 final against Quetta Gladiators.

Zalmi were than in for a rude shock as United openers Luke Ronchi and Sahibzada Farhan tore into the bowling line up with a series of breathtaking shots early on in the chase.

Ronchi who was named Man-of-the-Tournament for his outstanding run in the HBL PSL 2018 which saw him top the run-getters list, blazed away to his 50.

His 96 run opening partnership with Farhan ended when Ronchi was taken at point by Fletcher.

The dismissal triggered a sensational collapse as United lost six wickets for the addition of 20 runs in a space of 44 balls.

The match turning moment was the reprive Asif Ali got as he attempted a hoic across the line and Kamran dropped a tough steepling chance while running some 40 meters towards the fine-leg boundary, as the ball was dropped the return from Sameen Gul went to the boundary due to poor backing by Sammy.

United needed 33 runs at that stage.

Zalmi never recovered from the jolt and their reign as PSL champions all but ended when Asif hit Hasan Ali for three sixes in one over.

The game was settled a few balls later despite the loss of the seventh wicket as jubilant United fans ran on to the pitch to celebrate a historic victory in a memorable night for Karachi fans.

Final: Peshawar Zalmi vs Islamabad United | Islamabad United won by 3 wickets

Match Details

Toss	Peshawar Zalmi, who chose to bat	Tournament	HBL Pakistan Super League 2018
Umpires	Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and Shozab Raza (Pakistan)	Match Date	25 Mar 2018
Match Referee	RS Mahanama	Ground	National Stadium, Karachi
TV Umpire	Ahmed Shahab
Player of Match	Luke Ronchi (Islamabad United)

Peshawar Zalmi Innings			R	M	B	4s	6s
1	Kamran Akmal †	lbw Samit Patel	1	0	9	0	0
2	Andre Fletcher	lbw Shadab Khan	21	0	15	4	0
3	Mohammad Hafeez	c & b Samit Patel	8	0	6	0	1
4	Chris Jordan	c Jean-Paul Duminy b Hussain Talat	36	0	26	1	3
5	Liam Dawson	b Mohammad Sami	33	0	30	1	1
6	Saad Nasim	c & b Hussain Talat	2	0	3	0	0
7	Darren Sammy *	lbw Shadab Khan	6	0	6	1	0
8	Umaid Asif	lbw Shadab Khan	0	0	1	0	0
9	Hasan Ali	c Chadwick Walton b Fahim Ashraf	6	0	5	1	0
10	Wahab Riaz	not out	28	0	14	4	1
11	Sameen Gul	not out	2	0	5	0	0
Extra		lb 3, w 2	5
Total		9 wickets; 20.0 overs;	148	7.4 runs per over

Fall of wickets

1-12 ( Kamran Akmal, 2.4 ) ;

;

3-26 ( Mohammad Hafeez, 4.1 ) ;

4-38 ( Andre Fletcher, 6.0 ) ;

5-90 ( Chris Jordan, 12.3 ) ;

6-101 ( Saad Nasim, 14.1 ) ;

7-111 ( Darren Sammy, 15.4 ) ;

8-111 ( Umaid Asif, 15.5 ) ;

9-117 ( Liam Dawson, 16.4 ) ;

10-121 ( Hasan Ali, 17.5 ) ;

Bowling	Overs	Runs	Wickets	Wides
Samit Patel	4.0	26	2	0
Mohammad Sami	4.0	31	1	1
Shadab Khan	4.0	25	3	0
Fahim Ashraf	4.0	32	1	0
Amad Butt	2.0	13	0	0
Hussain Talat	2.0	18	2	1

Islamabad United Innings			R	M	B	4s	6s
1	Luke Ronchi †	c Andre Fletcher b Chris Jordan	52	0	26	4	5
2	Sahibzada Farhan	c Hasan Ali b Wahab Riaz	44	0	33	5	1
3	Chadwick Walton	b Umaid Asif	0	0	2	0	0
4	Jean-Paul Duminy *	c & b Chris Jordan	2	0	4	0	0
5	Samit Patel	c Mohammad Hafeez b Hasan Ali	10	0	13	2	0
6	Shadab Khan	c Chris Jordan b Hasan Ali	1	0	2	0	0
7	Hussain Talat	b Wahab Riaz	7	0	11	0	0
8	Asif Ali	not out	26	0	6	0	3
9	Fahim Ashraf	not out	6	0	4	0	1
10	Amad Butt	Did not bat
11	Mohammad Sami	Did not bat
Extra		lb 1, w 5	6
Total		7 wickets; 16.5 overs; 0 mins	154	9.15 runs per over

Fall of wickets

1-96 ( Luke Ronchi, 8.5 ) ;

2-97 ( Chadwick Walton, 9.1 ) ;

3-102 ( Jean-Paul Duminy, 10.3 ) ;

4-112 ( Sahibzada Farhan, 12.0 ) ;

;

6-115 ( Samit Patel, 13.1 ) ;

7-116 ( Shadab Khan, 14.0 ) ;

8-148 ( Hussain Talat, 16.1 ) ;

Bowling	Overs	Runs	Wickets	Wides
Hasan Ali	4.0	53	2	2
Sameen Gul	1.0	9	0	0
Liam Dawson	1.0	15	0	0
Wahab Riaz	3.5	28	2	0
Umaid Asif	4.0	26	1	0
Chris Jordan	3.0	22	2	3

Match Notes

Peshawar Zalmi Inning

Peshawar Zalmi : 50 runs in 7.4 overs (46 balls), Extras 2
5th Wicket : 50 runs in 35 balls
(Liam Dawson 24
, Chris Jordan 20

, Ex 0)
Peshawar Zalmi : 100 runs in 13.5 overs (83 balls), Extras 3
Innings Break : Peshawar Zalmi – 148/9 in 20.0 overs
(Wahab Riaz 28
, Sameen Gul 2)

Islamabad United Inning

Islamabad United : 50 runs in 3.4 overs (22 balls), Extras 2
1st Wicket : 50 runs in 22 balls
(Luke Ronchi 45
, Sahibzada Farhan 8

, Ex 2)
Luke Ronchi : 50 off 24 balls
(
3 x 4 5 x 6 )
Islamabad United : 100 runs in 9.5 overs (59 balls), Extras 5
Islamabad United : 150 runs in 16.5 overs (101 balls), Extras 6