SHARJAH, MAR 01, (DNA) – Quetta Gladiators reached the final of Pakistan Super League (PSL) for the second time in a row as they defeated Peshawar Zalmi by just 1 run, in a thriller.

Skipper Darren Sammy won the toss and elected to bowl first on a seemingly good Sharjah pitch.

Quetta Gladiators had decided to bring three changes to its side as Luke Wright, Saad Nasim and Anwar Ali have been included in the team while Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan and Haris Sohail have been included in Peshawar Zamli squad.

DJ Malan, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, MN Samuels, DJG Sammy (capt), Haris Sohail, Shahid Afridi, CJ Jordan, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Asghar

Ahmed Shehzad, LJ Wright, KP Pietersen, RR Rossouw, Mohammad Nawaz, Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Saad Nasim, Anwar Ali, Hasan Khan, Zulfiqar Babar, TS Mills

Peshawar Zalmi Innings

Overs 20 I Score 199/9 I Darren Sammy 11*, Hassan Ali 0

Malan was dismissed by Mills after scoring 56 runs but then Afridi took over the show as he hit some mighty sixes to bring the match in Peshawar Zalmi s over. Peshawar needed only 20 runs off the last three overs.

Peshawar did not take risk in the 18th over and scored just 5 runs but then Afridi hit Anwar Ali for another huge six in the 19th over. Afridi was caught while going for another big shot as Peshawar needed 7 runs off the last over.

Darren Sammy brought his side even closer to the victory as he hit a four off the second ball of the last over of Muhammad Nawaz. Peshawar needed only 2 runs off the last 3 balls but Chris Jordan, Wahab Riaz and Hassan Ali were dismissed off last three deliveries as they lost the game by just 1 run.

Overs 15 I Score 157/3 I DJ Malan 56*, Shahid Afridi 11*

Mills came into ball in the eleventh over and was hammered all around the wicket by both the batsmen. Three boundaries came of the eleventh over as 16 runs were scored meanwhile. The chase was likely to catch speed with the passage of every single over. The twelfth over was something exemplary from Hafeez as thumped Hasan Khan for three towering sixes while putting the pressure on Quetta Gladiators. A total of 19 runs came of the over as Hafeez reached to his marvelous fifty.

Zulfiqar Babar came to ball in the thirteenth over as 10 runs came of the over while Malan thumping him away for a boundary in the over. Nawaz was given a nice welcome as Malan thrashed a boundary of his first ball in the fourteenth over while reaching his fifty in the process. In the same over, Hafeez hammered one away for a huge six. However, the bowler came strongly in the same over as he removed Hafeez while he was trying to clear the cover boundary and was caught in the process of doing so.

Boom Boom came to bat as Hafeez departed as the skipper brought Anwar Ali back into the attack. On the last two balls of Anwar Ali’s over, Afridi hit a boundary and a huge six and made the equation rather easier for the batting side.

Things for Quetta Gladaitors were so far so good as not that many runs were scored of the first five overs. Meanwhile, another brilliant over was bowled by Zulfiqar Babar as only four runs were conceded in the over. It was Muhammad Nawaz’s over when Malan took the charge and thumped him for a huge six over square leg. Hafeez also hit one straight over the bowler’s head for a six while Malan fetched four of the last ball. A total of 19 runs came of the seventh over.

Another spinner Hasan Khan came into ball and went away for 9 runs as one boundary came of the over. The skipper opted to continue with spinners as he brought in Saad Nasim in the next over. First it was Hafeez who thrashed Nasim for a boundary and then Malan also hit a boundary of the last ball.

On the first ball of tenth over, Muhammad Hafeez swept one away for a huge six of the bowling of Zulfiqar Babar. A total of 11 runs came of the tenth over. At half-way stage, Zami were 86 for the loss of two wickets.

Overs 5 I Score 34/2 I DJ Malan 8*, Mohammad Hafeez 15*

It was undoubtedly a tough ask for Peshawar Zalmi as they had to chase down a colossal target of 201 in 20 overs. The first over was bowled brilliantly by Anwar Ali as only 1 run came of it. The second over by Zulfiqar Babar brings with itself some really bad news for the Zalmis as two wickets and three runs was thesummary of the over.

First, it was Kamran Akmal who was caught by Pieterson just at the edge of the circle at mid-on and then it was the horrible run-out of Samuels that added further to the miseries of Peshawar Zalmi.

Muhammad Hafeez took the charge in the third over as he thumped the young Hasan Ali for three boundaries in the over. The promising Malan came into ball in the third over as he bowled three consecutive wide balls and was thumped for a boundary by Malan over half-stump immediately after. On the second last ball, Hafeez played one away toward short-fine leg for four more. A total of 14 runs came of the fourt over by Mills.

Meanwhile, Anwar Ali who bowled a brilliant first over continued with the same kind of magnificent bowling as only 4 runs came of the over.

Quetta Gladiators Innings

Overs 20 I Score 200/7 I Hasan Khan 1*, Mohammad Nawaz 1*

Meanwhile, Jordan who bowled economically in the match so far bowled another good over as he went away for just 7 runs in the sixteenth over. Jordan mixes it up when it comes to bowling at this stage of the innings. Wahab came into ball in the seventeenth over and cleaned up Rossouw while Rossouw missed a straight ball while deciding to open his arms. You miss I hit, says Wahab to Rossouw.

Anwar Ali thumped Wahab for four in the same over as he went away for ten runs in the seventeenth over after he takes his wicket. Jordan bowled with brilliant line and length in the eighteenth over as only six runs came of the over.

Anwar Ali pummeled two consecutive boundaries on the first two balls of the penultimate over however got runs out at the second-last ball as he was trying to take a third run. On the last ball, Sarfaraz also got run out as the mis-understanding developed between the skipper and the batsman on the other side.

The new batsman Saad Nasim also looked in good touch as two consecutive boundaries in the last over of Wahab. However, Wahab on the very next ball after the second boundary thrashed the middle stump out of the ground. A sight worth-witnessing for the fast bowler!

As Shehzad departed in the tenth over, KP carried on the innings as the South African Rilee Rossouw came to bat. Kevin thumped Hafeez for four over square leg as 11 runs came of the over. KP took the charge in the twelfth over bowled by Wahab Riaz as he tossed one up in the air and caught brilliantly just over the boundary edge by Asghar. A sigh of relief for the Zalmis as both the dangerous men were back on their way.

The flow of runs halted as both Shehzad and Pieterson were no more on the crease. Only five runs came of the twelfth over while six of the thirteenth over bowled by the Professor.

Meanwhile, Afridi who got a massive treatment in his first over came back strongly and conceded just 2 runs in his second over. A total of 8 runs came of the fifteenth over bowled by Hasan.

The introduction of KP to the pitch brought some liveliness to the pitch as hitting of the kind that never happened to PSL before was witnessed at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. It was in the sixth over when KP hit a humongous six that went out of the park of the bowling of Wahab Riaz. The six truly stole the show for the night.

As Muhammad Asghar came into ball in the seventh over, KP thumped him for two sixes on the last two balls of his over. Kevin was showing his class today and was in mood to play a memorable innings in the first play-off.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Shehzad also pursued with the same aggression as he thumped Shahid Afridi for a boundary and two colossal sixes in order to give him a warm welcome in his first over. The run rate started to flew as the two batsmen were batting on the crease. Meanwhile, Ahmad Shehzad also completed his well-deserved fifty as he takes a single of last ball.

Jordan came into ball in the ninth over and bowled rather an economical over at this stage of the game as he went away for 9 runs in his over. Ahmad Shehzad continued with the same aggression and thumped Sammy all around the ground in the tenth over. Shehzad pummeled one away for a six, followed by another six and a four while get caught on the last ball as he was trying to clear the field. Wahab took the crucial catch of the bowling of Sammy.

The start of the proceedings in the first play-off at Sharjah was so out of this world as we saw some lusty hitting from the Quetta side. Ahmad Shahzad took the charge from the very start as he smashed Hasan Ali on the first ball towards mid-wicket for four. Same results came on the fourth and sixth ball of the first over as Shehzad seemed to be in mood. A total of 13 runs came of Hasan Ali’s over.

The aggressive opener of Quetta Gladiator also continued with same aggression as he thumped Muhammad Asghar for two boundaries in the second over. Meanwhile, Luke Wright also joined the party as he pummeled one straight over the bowler’s head for maximum, however the excitement was short-lived as Hasan Ali cleaned him up on the last ball of the over.

Meanwhile, Jordan came in to ball in the fourth over and conceded 9 runs in the over. Asghar bowled well in the fifth over while conceding just 4 runs in the over.