Peshawar Zalmi stand-in captain Tom Kohler-Cadmore gave credit to the bowlers after they bested Islamabad United by 13 runs at the Pindi Club Ground, Rawalpindi on Sunday. With this win, PSZ qualified for the playoff stages whereas ISU also qualified for the final four but finished in the third spot.
PSZ posted 179 runs on the board after ISU skipper Shadab Khan won the toss and decided to bowl first. Mohammad Haris scored 79 off just 39 balls for PSZ whereas Bhanuka Rajapaksa added 41 runs from 25 balls.
On the other hand, a lot of ISU batters got off to starts but could not convert their score into a big one. Khurram Shahzad and Sufiyan Muqeem scalped three wickets each for PSZ while Aameer Jamal and James Neesham took two wickets apiece to bundle out the opposition at 166.
Peshawar Zalmi captain Tom Kohler-Cadmore said in the post-match presentation, “From the last two games, I thought we were 60 short. But it got tougher and our bowlers learned from the first innings and bowled well. The bowlers adapted to conditions, it was holding a little bit and we were able to build pressure. I thought Mujeeb was outstanding, everyone else chipped in with wickets. It’ll be a different day, we’ll have to turn up in Lahore. That’s the good thing about knockout cricket, we’re just three wins away from lifting the trophy.”
Mohammad Haris was awarded the Player of the Match for his blistering knock at the top of the order. He said after the game, “We were initially thinking of getting 220. But i realised it wasn’t that sort of pitch. The ball was gripping a touch. I’m flexible about my batting position, be it one down or opening.”
Shadab Khan, the Islamabad United captain, feels it was a chaseable target but they didn’t bat well enough.
He said after the loss, “We experimented in this game, we wanted to give everyone an opportunity and give players a chance who were not in form to get back into form. We wanted to win the game but it didn’t happen. We thought it was definitely chaseable but we didn’t play well.”
Both of these teams will once again take on each other in the Eliminator on Thursday.
