PZ vs KK Match Result: Peshawar Zalmi beat Karachi Kings by 2 runs

Peshawar Zalmi have won by a narrow two-run margin against Karachi Kings in the second match of the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), thanks to Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s impressive 92 off 50 balls and Babar Azam’s outstanding 68 off 46 balls.

In pursuit of a 200-run target, Karachi Kings fell short by three runs, scoring 197-5 in their allotted 20 overs. Their skipper Imad Wasim was the standout performer, scoring an unbeaten 80 off 47 balls, which included seven fours and four sixes.

Shoaib Malik also played an anchoring role to steer the innings of the Kings as he scored 34-ball 52, clobbered four boundaries and two sixes.

With the exception of Malik and Imad, only Matthew Wade (23 off 15) and Haider Ali (12 off 10) moved to the double figures.

James Neesham (2-26) and Wahab Riaz (2-34) took two wickets each, while Salman Irshad (1-42) took a wicket.

James Neesham and Shakib Al Hasan scored 16 runs off 11 balls and 1 run off just one ball respectively, and remained not out.

Mir Hamza dismissed Mohammad Haris after he scored 10 runs off 5 balls, while Ben Cutting outplayed Bhanuka Rajapaksa after he had scored 6 runs off 6 balls.

Mir Hamza, Andrew Tye, Imran Tahir, and Ben Cutting all took one wicket each for Karachi Kings. Mir Hamza conceded just 13 runs for his wicket, while Andrew Tye gave away 32 runs. Imran Tahir was slightly more expensive, conceding 40 runs for his wicket, and Ben Cutting conceded 29 runs.

James Neesham and Shakib Al Hasan remained unbeaten on 11-ball 16 and 1-ball 1 respectively.

Mohammad Haris was undone by Mir Hamza on 5-ball 10, while Bhanuka Rajapaksa was outplayed by Ben Cutting on 6-ball 6.

For Karachi Kings, Mir Hamza (1-13), Andrew Tye (1-32), Imran Tahir (1-40) and Ben Cutting (1-29) took a wicket apiece.

Full Scorecard: Peshawar Zalmi vs Karachi Kings PSL Match Today

Peshawar Zalmi batting 1st:

Peshawar Zalmi started their innings in an aggressive manner, with Mohammad Haris hitting a boundary off the first ball bowled by Mohammad Amir.

Babar Azam also hit a boundary a few balls later, helping Peshawar Zalmi score 11 runs in the first over.

Mohammad Haris welcomed Mir Hamza with a boundary, but was dismissed the next ball as Mir Hamza successfully appealed for LBW through a review.

Saim Ayub came in as the next batter but was unfortunately run out off the next ball due to a slight touch from Mir Hamza to Babar Azam’s straight drive.

Tom Kohler Cadmore came in as the new batter and smashed three sixes off Karachi Kings skipper Imad Wasim in the fifth over, helping Peshawar Zalmi reach 50 runs in just five overs.

Kohler Cadmore continued his momentum and hit Imran Tahir for a six in the eighth over.

Babar Azam rotated the strike effectively, frustrating his former team, and guided Kohler Cadmore in their partnership.

Kohler Cadmore reached his half-century with another six off Imran Tahir’s delivery, taking just 28 balls and hitting a total of five sixes.

They kept going strong and brought up their century partnership in the 12th over, off just 62 balls.

Babar Azam also reached his fifty off 39 balls and accelerated afterwaqrds, as he hit Andrew Tye for two fours and one six in the 15th over, helping Peshawar Zalmi reach 150.

The 139-run partnership came to an end finally when Imran Tahir got Babar Azam’s wicket, but by then Babar had done all the damage with 68 runs off 46 balls.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa was dismissed by Andrew Tye after adding only six runs to the board, making it Peshawar Zalmi’s fourth wicket down for 171 runs.

In the 19th over, Muhammad Amir came on to bowl and gave away two more boundaries, finishing his spell wicketless and conceding 42 runs in his four overs.

Tom Kohler Cadmore’s innings finally came to an end in the last over of the innings when Ben Cutting claimed his wicket at 92 runs.

Peshawar Zalmi finished their innings at 199 for the loss of five wickets, setting a target of 200 for the hosts.

Karachi Kings batting:

Peshawar Zalmi’s former captain Wahab Riaz got his team off to a great start in the first over by dismissing Sharjeel Khan for a duck.

Matthew Wade, who gained fame for hitting three sixes to Shaheen Shah Afridi in the 2021 T20 World Cup semifinal, began his PSL career aggressively by hitting Khurram Shahzad for two fours and a six in the second over.

Karachi Kings scored 34 runs in the first three overs, but their momentum was halted by James Neesham, who dismissed Wade for 23 runs.

Qasim Akram, the next batter, added only seven runs before being dismissed by James Neesham as well.

Despite losing four wickets for just 48 runs, Karachi Kings put up a good fight as Shoaib Malik and Imad Wasim scored fifties.

In the end, Karachi Kings fell just two runs short, with Imad Wasim remaining unbeaten on 80 runs, and Shoaib Malik scoring 52 runs for his team.

Man of the Match Tom Kohler-Cadmore

Tom Kohler-Cadmore was awarded man of the match award for his 92 off 50 balls in his first PSL match in 2023.

After today’s win, both both Peshawar Zalmi and Lahore Qalandars on top of the list at the points table sitting at number 1 and 2 positions respectively.

As per latest PSL schedule, Multan Sultans will next play against Peshawar Zalmi on February 17 at Multan.