Usman Khawaja’s unbeaten 56-ball 105 helped Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs in Match 26 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. The victory guaranteed Islamabad’s claim at the top of the league table.
Khawaja and Colin Munro (48 off 28) played cautiously in the first three overs after Wahab Riaz won the toss and asked them to bat first. The pair smashed 35 runs off the next three overs, and 21 more runs in the seventh over.
Shoaib Malik gave Peshawar the much-needed breakthrough in the 10th over. Asif Ali (43 of 14) then came to the party. He smashed two fours and five sixes in his short stay before falling to Sameen Gul (1-56). Islamabad were 145/2 after 12.5 overs at this stage.
Khawaja and Brandon King (46 not out off 22) then forged an unbeaten 102-run stand in the final 43 balls to take Islamabad to 247/2 – the highest total in the tournament’s history.
Hazratullah Zazai fell for nought off the very first ball of the Peshawar chase. Imam-ul-Haq (7) did not last either. Kamran Akmal (53 off 32) and Malik (68 off 36) combined to keep Peshawar’s hope alive before the former fell to Hussain Talat (2-37).
Sherfane Rutherford (29 off 8), Wahab Riaz (28* off 15) and Umaid Asif (20* off 9) tried their best before Peshawar’s valiant reply closed on 232/6. On an evening when everything went in favour of batters, Akif Javed was the standout performer with the ball, with figures of 3-43 in his four overs.
Brief Scores
Islamabad United 247/2 in 20 overs (Khawaja 105*; Malik 1-14) beat Peshawar Zalmi 232/6 in 20 overs (Malik 68; Javed 3-43) by 15 runs. Player of the Match: Usman Khawaja.