Babar Azam opens up about Peshawar Zalmi’s loss to Islamabad United in PSL 9 Eliminator 2

• Babar Azam talked about Zamli’s loss in the second Eliminator.
• Imad Wasim and Haider Ali put together a 98-run partnership.
• Naseem Shah took 3 wickets for United.

Following the defeat of Peshawar Zalmi to Islamabad United in the second Eliminator of the ongoing ninth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in Karachi, Zalmi’s captain Babar Azam shared his thoughts.

Post-match, the 29-year-old expressed disappointment with their bowling performance in the latter half of United’s innings.

“I think we were in a good position after 10 overs. But our bowling after that was very bad. We weren’t up to the mark and we thought we had won the match,” he stated.

“We were ahead but after that, we bowled ordinarily,” he further added.

Imad Wasim and Haider Ali managed to put together a 98-run partnership for the sixth wicket when United was struggling at 91/5 in their pursuit of 186.

Imad scored his season’s first half-century, remaining not out on 59 off 40 deliveries, while Haider contributed a quickfire 52 off 29 balls, including five sixes and two fours.

“Credit to Imad and Haider for how they played,” Babar praised the pair for their partnership.

United had a rough start to their chase, losing three wickets in the initial four overs with just 21 runs on the scoreboard.

Martin Guptill, the in-form opener, staged a brief counter-attack, notably scoring 22 runs in an over against Saim Ayub, before being dismissed by Khurram Shehzad on the final ball of the batting powerplay.

Guptill’s contribution to United’s score was significant, with 34 runs off 21 balls, including five boundaries and a six.

With the scoreboard reading 50/4 after six overs, Azam Khan joined forces with Imad in an effort to stabilize the innings.

The duo batted sensibly for about five overs until Luke Wood dismissed Azam (22) on the final ball of the 11th over, disrupting United’s recovery. However, Imad and Haider steered them to an exciting victory.

This marks United’s first PSL final since 2018, and they are set to face Multan Sultans on March 18 at the same venue.

Earlier, a vibrant 73-run knock from Saim Ayub, along with Mohammad Haris’ 40, helped Zalmi post a total of 185/5.

Naseem Shah spearheaded United’s bowling attack, returning figures of 3/30 in his four overs, while Shadab and Obed McCoy each took a wicket.

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