Peshawar Zalmi skipper Babar Azam was delighted after they defeated Karachi Kings by 24 runs in the 17th match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League 2023 on Wednesday. PSZ posted a par score of 197-5 after Imad Wasim won the toss and decided to bowl first.
But the start wasn’t ideal for Peshawar Zalmi as they found themselves at 2-3 after 2.2 overs. Mohammad Amir struck twice in his first over to dismiss Mohammad Haris and Babar Azam and then also got rid of Saim Ayub.
However, Peshawar Zalmi was able to get back into the contest after fifties from Haseebullah Khan, Rovman Powell, and Kohler-Cadmore. Khan and Cadmore added 82 runs for the fourth wicket whereas Powell and Cadmore added 85 runs.
Khan (56 off 45), Cadmore (50 off 29) and Powell (64 off 34) were able to power PSZ to a par score.
Babar Azam said in the post-match presentation, “We lost back to back wickets and that put us under pressure. The way Powell and Kohler-Cadmore played was excellent, Haseebullah also batted well in between. This pitch supports the batters, the batters executed well. Our bowlers also executed well. Every win gives us confidence and this was an important match to win, hopefully we will win the upcoming games too.”
On the other hand, Matthew Wade scored 53 at the top of the order whereas Imad Wasim scored 57 runs for KRK but the rest of the batters couldn’t make any substantial contribution in the run-chase.
Imad Wasim said after the loss, “We didn’t bowl well, credit to Powell and Haseebullah, they batted well. You have to bowl yorkers here, there wasn’t much spin and we had to be more decisive about what we were going to bowl. It was a good day as Amir found his form back but we have three games left and it’s going to be tough. The last over went for 18 and these are the things that cost you games. We thought 200 was a par score though. We’ll just come back hard and try and execute. We’ll play with pride and for Karachi, we’re still in the tournament.”
Rovman Powell was awarded the Player of the Match for his fine knock in the middle order.
He said after the win, “It was a pretty good wicket. TKC and Haseebullah batted well to get us a platform from where I could launch. I thought everything was in my zone, it was important for me to bat the first 10 balls properly to get used to the surface. I’ve been in form so I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get runs in my first few innings.”
