Hazratullah Zazai’s 38-ball 77 helped Peshawar Zalmi to beat Karachi Kings by five wickets in Eliminator 1 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
Sharjeel Khan (26 in 20 balls) and Babar Azam (53 in 45) began cautiously after Karachi were asked to bat first. They added 41 runs in 35 balls before Mohammad Irfan (2-21) dismissed Sharjeel leg-before.
Neither Danish Aziz (13), hero of the last match, nor Martin Guptill lasted either. Babar got a fifty but failed to accelerate during his 45-ball stay. He eventually fell to Wahab Riaz (2-29) in the 15th over. Karachi were 101/4 at this point.
Thisara Perera (37 off 18) and Imad Wasim (16 off 9) then took Karachi to 175/7.
Despite losing Kamran Akmal (13) and Imam-ul-Haq (11), Zazai single-handedly took the game away from Karachi during the first half of the chase. When he fell to Thisara (2-10) in the 12th over, Peshawar already piled 103/3 on board.
Shoaib Malik (30 off 25) then forged a 52-run stand for the fourth wicket with Khalid Usman (17) before Sherfane Rutherford (17* off 10) reached the target with a ball left.
Peshawar will now play Islamabad United on 22 June in Eliminator 2 at the same venue.
Brief Score
Karachi Kings 175/7 in 20 overs (Babar 53; Irfan 2-21) lost to Peshawar Zalmi 176/5 in 19.5 overs (Zazai 77; Perera 2-10) beat by 5 wickets with 1 ball to spare. Player of the Match: Hazratullah Zazai.