Who won yesterday PSL match: The second match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League 2022 went down to the wire at Karachi.
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The second match of the ongoing seventh season of the Pakistan Super League between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi at the National Stadium in Karachi turned out to be a high scoring affair on a deck which was nearly a batting paradise under the lights.
To begin with, it was Shoaib Malik who stepped on to the field as the stand-in captain in place of Wahab Riaz for the Toss alongside former Pakistan and Quetta Gladiators skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed. It was the former who won the Toss and decided to bowl first.
While Malik and his men would have expected the Gladiator batters to go hammer and tongs at his bowlers, little did he know that that the opening batting pair of Ahsan Ali (73 off 46) and Will Smeed (97 off 62) would stitch together a partnership of 155 runs- the third-highest opening partnership in the PSL, and the fourth-highest for any wicket in the tournament history. It was also the highest partnership for the Gladiators in the tournament history.
The bowlers did pull things back a bit during the death Overs though, to keep them down to a chaseable score of 190/4 in 20 Overs. Sameen Gul and Usman Qadir picked up two wickets apiece for the Zalmis.
Who won yesterday PSL match
The Peshawar chase began on a high as the 19-year-old Yasir Khan (30 off 12) took on the bowling attack right from the get-go to take the Peshawar total to 43 in mere 3.2 Overs.
Despite him and his partner Tom Kohler-Cadmore (22 off 16) getting dismissed inside the Powerplay, they managed to post a healthy 62 at 10.3 runs per Over to provide the kind of start Malik and co. would have liked.
Post that, is was all about Shoaib Malik (48* off 32) alongside Hussain Talat (52 off 39), and the 81-run partnership between the two for the 4th wicket that helped Peshawar notch-up their first victory of the season by 5 wickets, with 4 balls to spare.
With 26 needed off the final two Overs, Malik hit two sixes and a four to smash a total of 22 runs off James Faulkner during the 19th Over to seal the deal for his side.
Quetta gave it their all, but Peshawar batters snatched the game away. Well played 👏🏼 #HBLPSL7 l #LevelHai l #QGvPZ pic.twitter.com/SzHgDyB1Bi
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) January 28, 2022
Gladiators’ Will Smeed, playing his maiden PSL match, received the Man of the Match award for a superb 97 off 62 deliveries, despite his team ending up on the losing side.
“I am lucky to be out there and I am happy that I have made the most of this opportunity. It is a wonderful chance for me to improve my game against the slower bowlers in conditions that are quite different than from where I come. I’ll take a lot of confidence from this knock going forward,” said Smeed after receiving the award.
Mohammad Nawaz was the pick of the bowlers for Quetta, ending up picking 3 wickets, but leaking as many as 44 runs in his 4 Overs.
