Islamabad United captain Shadab Khan was delighted with the performance of his team after they defeated Peshawar Zalmi in the first Eliminator by five wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Thursday.

Khan, who made a comeback after missing the last couple of matches due to injury, heaped praise on his team’s opener, Alex Hales.

In fact, Hales had returned back to the United Kingdom due to personal reasons but came back for the playoff stages. Hales scored a match-winning knock of 62 runs off 49 balls and played a key role in helping Islamabad United chase down 170 runs.

Meanwhile, Kamran Akmal and veteran batter Shoaib Malik scored fifties to help Peshawar Zalmi post a competitive score of 169 runs after Wahab Riaz won the toss and decided to bat first. However, Hales was able to get going in the run-chase and played a key knock.

Furthermore, the finishing touches for Islamabad United were provided by Faheem Ashraf and Liam Dawson. Ashraf scored 19 runs off 13 balls while Dawson smashed 10 runs off just two balls. In fact, Shadab Khan wanted to send Hasan Ali in the fag end of the innings but the assistant coach suggested that Dawson should be given the chance.

Shadab Khan said in the post-match presentation, “Alex Hales is one of the best players in the world and I keep telling the youngsters to learn from these quality players. I thought of sending Hasan Ali in the end, but the assistant coach told me that Dawson should go. We did struggle a little in the group stages and players missing out, but glad we ended up on the winning note tonight”.

Meanwhile, Shadab Khan also made a decent return after the injury as he scored 22 runs and also took one wicket.

Islamabad United will look to continue the winning impetus against Lahore Qalandars in the second Eliminator, which will take place at the same venue on Friday.