Quetta Gladiators, riding on a collective batting performance and a sensational five-wicket haul from Faheem Ashraf, sealed a dominant 64-run triumph over Peshawar Zalmi in their PSL 10 clash at Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing a 179-run target, Zalmi’s batting unit collapsed for a meagre 114 runs in 15.2 overs.
Middle-order batter Hussain Talat waged a lone battle for Zalmi with a 34-ball 39, laced with four fours and two sixes, before becoming a victim of Abrar Ahmed in the 15th over.
Besides him, skipper Babar Azam (12), Mohammad Haris (17), and Mitchell Owen (15) were the only other batters to reach double figures, highlighting Zalmi’s struggle against Gladiators’ pace-heavy bowling attack.
Faheem Ashraf was the standout bowler for the Gladiators, taking an impressive five wickets for just 33 runs in his 3.2 overs, followed by Khurram Shahzad with two wickets, while Mohammad Amir, Abrar Ahmed, and Mohammad Wasim shared three wickets between them.
Earlier in the match, Alzarri Joseph spearheaded the attack with exceptional figures of 3/33, limiting Quetta Gladiators to 178/7.
The Gladiators got off to a decent start to their innings as their opening pair of Finn Allen and Saud Shakeel put together a brisk 46-run partnership.
Allen, who was the primary aggressor in the opening stand, was the first to depart, falling victim to Alzarri Joseph on the third delivery of the fifth over. He scored a quickfire 31 off 16 deliveries, including four fours and two sixes.
Shakeel then formed another important partnership for the Gladiators, adding 45 runs for the second wicket with Rilee Rossouw before Saim Ayub dismissed both set batters in his successive overs, bringing the total down to 105/3 in 11.2 overs.
The skipper, Shakeel, struck five boundaries on his way to a 26-ball 32, while Rossouw contributed 27 off 18 deliveries, hitting as many boundaries.
Following these back-to-back blows, Kusal Mendis and Mark Chapman forged a steadying 39-run partnership for the fourth wicket until Joseph had Mendis caught behind in the 17th over.
Mendis scored a patient 32 off 27 deliveries, hitting five boundaries.
Chapman, on the other hand, was dismissed by Luke Wood in the final over after top-scoring for the Gladiators with a well-played 33 off 26 deliveries, including three boundaries.
Azlarri Joseph was the standout bowler for Zalmi, taking three wickets for just 33 runs in his four overs, followed by Ayub with two wickets, while Wood chipped in with one scalp.
Earlier in the day, Peshawar Zalmi won the toss and elected to bowl first against Quetta Gladiators.
Squads
Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam (c), Saim Ayub and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (all platinum), Mohammad Haris, George Linde and Mohammad Ali (both diamond), Hussain Talat, Nahid Rana and Abdul Samad (all gold), Arif Yaqoob, Mehran Mumtaz, Sufiyan Muqeem and Najibullah Zadran (all silver), Ali Raza and Maaz Sadaqat (both emerging), Mitchell Owen, Ahmed Daniyal, Alzarri Joseph and Ihsanullah (all supplementary).
Quetta Gladiators: Finn Allen, Faheem Ashraf and Mark Chapman (all platinum), Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir and Rilee Rossouw (all diamond), Akeal Hossein, Mohammad Wasim Jr and Saud Shakeel (all gold), Khawaja Nafay, Usman Tariq, Haseebullah Khan and Khurram Shahzad (all silver), Kyle Jamieson and Hasan Nawaz (both emerging), Mohammad Zeeshan, Danish Aziz, Kusal Mendis and Sean Abbott (all supplementary).
