In a nail-biting encounter at the Pakistan Super League on Tuesday, Peshawar Zalmi registered a narrow win against Multan Sultans by beating them by the margin of four runs at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Babar Azam's innings proved to be the cornerstone of Peshawar Zalmi's victory
In pursuit of 204, Multan Sultans started off on a dull note, with their top order batsmen not living up to the expectations. However, Iftikhar Ahmed played a blistering 60-run knock unbeaten, but that remained in vain with Zalmi bowlers applying the relentless pressure on Multan Sultan's batters.
Zalmi bowlers struck with crucial breakthroughs at regular intervals, exerting pressure on the opposition. Despite some valiant efforts from the Sultans' middle order, they fell short of the target by a narrow margin. Multan Sultans have, however, qualified for the playoffs becoming the first team to do so in the ongoing PSL.
Earlier, deciding to bat after winning the toss, Peshawar Zalmi started off on a brilliant note with Saim Ayub and skipper Babar Azam scoring (46) and (64) respectively. Down the order, Haseebullah Khan scored (31) off (20) to take the team to 204/5 in (20) overs. Peshawar Zalmi have been successful in beating Multan Sultans twice this season.