Excellent knocks played by Quetta Gladiators opening pair Ahsan Ali and Will Smeed went in vain as they faced defeat in a high-scoring fixture to Peshawar Zalmi on January 28 in the Pakistan Super League 2022.
Ahsan’s blistering 73 off 46 and Smeed’s exhilarating 97 off 62 deliveries allowed the Gladiators to post a mammoth total of 190/4 in their allotted 20 overs. But they still came out second in the race to Zalmi, who had a more collective surge towards the winning post.
Middle-order batters Hussain Talat (52) and Shoaib Malik (48*) were Zalmi’s star batting performers but the likes of Tom Kohler-Cadmore (22), Yasir Khan (30) also built a nice foundation to their push towards the gigantic 191-run target.
No.3 Haider Ali’s (19) slow 21-ball vigil at the crease threatened to hurt Zalmi’s quest. However, Malik and Talat took control of things on time and ensured their team stayed on course for the winning post. Malik, the Zalmi skipper, not only led his team from the front but gave a befitting example of his capabilities, aged 39.
Gladiators lost the game with the ball. On a flat pitch at the National Stadium in Karachi, only one of their bowlers – Naseem Shah (1/19) – came out of the game with respectable figures, while the rest of the attack went for plenty. Mohammad Nawaz was his team’s highest wicket-taker with a three-fer, but he conceded 44 runs off his four overs.
In a similarly incomplete bowling performance, Zalmi had a stand-out bowler in Usman Qadir (2/20). However, the remainder of their attack – including Sameen Gul (2/41) – proved very expensive.
In the end, the biggest difference was made by Malik and Talat’s excellent innings from the middle-order where they took Zalmi from 77 for three to 158 for four when Talat departed. Malik stayed unbeaten till the very end and ensured a five-wicket win for his side.
Brief scores
Quetta Gladiators 190/4 in 20 overs (Smeed 97, Ali 73; Qadir 2/20) lost to Peshawar Zalmi 191/5 in 19.4 overs (Talat 52, Nawaz 3/44) by 5 wickets
