Akmal’s blistering century powers Zalmi to PSL final

The Peshawar Zalmi thrashed the Karachi Kings by 24 runs in the final playoff of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at Dubai’s International Cricket Stadium on Friday, taking them to the PSL finals in Lahore on March 5 opposite the Quetta Gladiators.

The Karachi Kings choked under the pressure of the unassailable 182-run target—bolstered by a flurry of boundaries—set by the Zalmi.

The uninspired second innings played by the blue shirts was dotted with dot balls and singles, with middle-order wickets falling thick and fast.

The pace of the game picked up slightly after the fourth wicket, when Kieron Pollard stepped up to the crease opposite Chris Gayle. Gayle, however, was bowled out by Wahab Riaz 12 overs in.

Opener Babar Azam was earlier caught out by Riaz with just one run off seven balls, while Kumar Sangakkara and Shoaib Malik’s wickets fell in quick succession shortly after.

The blue shirts’ count of 23 runs in the powerplay is the lowest score in a powerplay in PSL history.

Shahid Afridi was benched after sustaining a hand injury while fielding.

Batting first, Peshawar Zalmi racked up a solid 181/3, with Sohail Khan taking two wickets and Muhammad Amir one.

A 97-run partnership between Kamran Akmal and Dawid Malan—propped up by nine fours and four sixes off the first 10 overs—was reportedly the best opening stand for the Zalmi in the PSL.

The partnership was terminated with Malan caught off Sohail Khan in the 11th over, bringing in Marlon Samuels.

Akmal, who smashed a century off 60 balls—the first century this season—also hit a personal milestone of 4,000 Twenty20 runs this innings.

Shahid Afridi was caught out with zero runs off a delivery by Muhammad Amir in the last over.

Earlier, the Kings had won the toss and opted to field.

Kamran Akmal was declared man of the match for his brilliant century.