Islamabad United pulled off a miraculous heist to shock Peshawar Zalmi in the second eliminator and deny them becoming the team making the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) most times on Saturday, March 16 in Karachi. At 91/5 chasing 186 runs, it looked like Zalmi were in pole position to make the PSL 2024 final and meet the Multan Sultans once again but it wasn't to be as Imad Wasim and Haider Ali with their unbeaten 98-run stand off just 48 deliveries helped the Men in Red advance to the final of Pakistan's T20 league for the third time in nine years and first one after 2018.
Despite skipper Babar Azam being slow to kick off, Zalmi got a rapid start owing to Saim Ayub's quickfire half-century as the Men in Yellow kept United bowlers at bay before the former got out after scoring 25. Mohammad Haris came and struck a few early blows to keep up with the run rate as Ayub continued on his merry run. Ayub got out after smashing a 73 off just 44 balls while Haris too was dismissed in quick succession after scoring 40.
Rovman Powell struggled and the Zalmi lost all the momentum losing three wickets in less than three overs. It felt like the Zalmi could fall well short of a par score but the cameos from Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Aamer Jamal at the end helped the Men in Yellow make a little comeback to end up with a score of 185. A total, which was a strong one standalone but there was a feeling that the Peshawar side could have gotten 10-15 more with the position they were in at one point.
However, the Zalmi bowlers made the total look too steep as they were all over the Islamabad United batting line-up. Apart from Martin Guptill, no other Islamabad United top order batter got a start before
Azam Khan and Imad Wasim's partnership got them back in the game. Azam got out at the wrong time as Zalmi were cock-a-hoop but they didn't know what was going to hit them.
Wasim and Haider smashed Zalmi bowlers to all parts and finished the game off in just 19 overs with such confident, calculative and consistent hitting as the Men in Yellow were subjected to their second loss in the playoffs. United will take on Mohammad Rizwan's Multan Sultans in the final on Monday, March 18.
