Match Details

KRK vs PSZ, Eliminator 1 T20, PSL 2021 summary

PSZ

176-5(19.5)

PSZ won by 5 wickets

KRK

(20.0)175-7

Match info

Summary

Scorecard

Commentary

So, that is it from me, Karthik Raj and my co-commentators, Anurag and Arijit. Do join OneCricket's coverage of the Eliminator 2 of the PSL which will see Islamabad United taking on Peshawar Zalmi

Wahab Riaz: As captain, there is a lot of pressure on you and the team played really well to get us this far. (On his being nervy in the dugout) I wasn't talking to myself, I was just praying. The boys put a collective performance today, put in their all on the park and it gives me great pleasure as the captain. We've played cricket on consecutive days before too, so it won't be that much of a challenge. Pressure is on Islamabad I feel because of the way in which they have played all tournament. Hopefully we can put in another good performance tomorrow.

Hazratullah Zazai: I just backed myself and I'm glad that I could contribute to the team's win. When the first few shots came off in the first over, I felt like it might be my day and gave me lot of confidence. The wicket was getting a bit slower, so I thought of utilising my form so that the other batsmen could take it easy.

Hazratullah Zazai has been named as the 'Player of the Match'

Imad Wasim: We played very good cricket, but were 10-20 runs short. Bowlers bowled well, but we dropped a couple of catches. Can't ask for more. They bowled well but we were short and should've got around 190. Zazai was great, we tried different things but that wasn't enough. We'll come back hard next year with a different mindset.

Time for the Post-match Presentation

However, Mohammad Ilyas was left with a paltry seven runs to defend off the final over. Ilyas produced a chance off the very first delivery but Danish Aziz dropped Sherfane Rutherford. The young pacer made it five runs required off three balls but Rutherford smashed the next delivery to the fence as it was over-pitched. With scores level, Ilyas got a false shot out of Rutherford but Thisara Perera made a mess out of that catch as Zalmi wrapped up a tense victory

Malik, in particular, ensured that Zalmi stayed afloat by smacking a six off Noor Ahmad to reduce the equation to 33 runs required off 24 balls. The next over bowled by Mohammad Amir wasn't great for Karachi as he also conceded 11 more runs. Mohammad Ilyas finally broke the partnership in the 18th over as he castled Khalid Usman while Mohammad Amir also got his first scalp in this Abu Dhabi leg as he sent back Shoaib Malik

The wicket didn't stop Zazai as he continued to smack all the bowlers including the spin duo of Noor Ahmad and Imad Wasim. Even though Imam-ul-Haq struggled with his 11 off 17 balls, Zazai kept the run-rate at a very good level. Eventually, Thisara Perera gave some hope by removing both Imam and more importantly Zazai in quick succession. These quick dismissals led to a decent partnership between Shoaib Malik and Khalid Usman

What an entertaining end to a pretty long-drawn but exciting match. Peshawar Zalmi make it to the Eliminator 2 with just one ball to spare. Hazratullah Zazai set-up the game with a stunning 77 off 38 balls but Zalmi somehow took the game very deep. While Zazai got the innings off to a flier, Noor Ahmad got Karachi's first breakthrough in the fifth over as he removed Kamran Akmal