In the opening match of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) day at Gaddafi Stadium, Peshawar Zalmi overcame Rawalpindi Pindiz by five wickets, with 5 balls to spare, in a thrilling encounter. Bangladesh leg-spinner Rishad Hossain and fellow spinner Shoriful Islam both impressed with their spells, but Rawalpindi fell short in defending 214.
Winning the toss, Rawalpindi Pindiz chose to bat first. Opener Yasir Khan partnered with Mohammad Rizwan for a rapid start. Shoriful Islam, entrusted with the new ball by Peshawar captain Babar Azam, conceded just 7 runs in his first over despite Yasir hitting a six. Over his three overs in the powerplay, Shoriful gave 20 runs without taking a wicket, later completing 4 overs for 31 runs.
The opening pair dominated, taking Rawalpindi to 125 before Rizwan fell for 41 off 32 balls. Yasir Khan struck 83 from 46 deliveries, reaching his fifty before being dismissed at 144. Cameos from Kamran Gulam (37 off 20 balls) and Daryl Mitchell (23 off 13 balls) helped Rawalpindi reach 214/4 in 20 overs. Rishad claimed one wicket, dismissing Aaron Hardie. Amjad Butt took 2 wickets, with Asif Afridi and Mohammad Amir picking up one each.
Peshawar Zalmi got off to a flying start, with openers Mohammad Haris and Babar Azam hitting boundaries at will. The pair added 62 runs in the powerplay without loss. The openers’ partnership broke at 78, with Babar scoring 39 off 28 balls and Haris 47 off 28.
Middle-order contributions were steady, with Kusal Mendis scoring 31 off 17 balls. Late cameos from Abdul Samad (33 off 11 balls) and Michael Bracewell (35* off 17 balls) propelled Peshawar close to the target. Amer Jamal finished the chase with a boundary on the first ball of the final over, sealing a five-wicket victory.
This win marks the highest successful chase in PSL history at Lahore, with Peshawar finishing 218/5 in 19.1 overs.
