Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam stole the show in the ongoing match against Islamabad United on Monday (March 4). The twentieth game of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024 will be held at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi.
Peshawar Zalmi won the toss and opted to take the field first. Captain Babar Azam surprised the rival and the fans with his play from the beginning. He gifted the ball straight to his first batsman, Saim Ayub, and the move paid off immediately as the bowler removed Alex Hales on the first ball.
Saim Ayub bowled a peachy ball that sailed away to completely deceive Alex Hales. The batsman tried to bowl this carrom ball but it swung away from a good length and hit the top of middle stump. The right one was opened to play the film and expose the stump of him.
Here is the video
The first ball is gone 😲
The middle stump shook 🎯 Saim Ayub weaves a web of magic! 🕸️ #HBLPSL9 | #KhulKeKhel | #IUvPZ pic.twitter.com/QCVYAi1inP— Pakistan Super League (@thePSLt20) March 4, 2024
Saim Ayub was elated with the wicket on the first ball. Furthermore, captain Babar Azam was happy that his move had borne fruit. Alex Hales had no idea about Saim Ayub’s young opening batsman’s delivery and it came out of nowhere.
Saim Ayub did not stop there and then removed another Islamabad United opening batsman. The young opener removed Colin Munro in the third over of the game and made sure to get his team off to a good start in the ongoing PSL 2024 game in Rawalpindi.
Saim Ayub bowled a full delivery that deflected off off stump. Colin Munro attempted to bowl the ball over the offside mark but failed to make the proper connection as the ball caught the underside of the bat and spun on impact with the ball.
Babar Azam, who was at cover, dropped back a little to take a simple catch. Colin Munro scored 15 runs off 9 balls and it was a big blow for Islamabad United as the batsman looked dangerous and had already smashed a four and a six in his innings.
Islamabad United posted 196 runs against Babar Azam’s team in Rawalpindi
After Saim Ayub’s great start, Babar Azam’s team could not build on the start they got as Islamabad United’s batsmen made sure to go big. Agha Salman (37) got the team out of trouble with his brave knock but the hero of the innings for Islamabad United was their captain Shadab Khan.
Shadab Khan played a magnificent innings of 80 runs off 51 balls. He had a strike rate of 156 in his innings while hitting 4 fours and 6 sixes in his innings. After his departure, Jordan Cox (26) and Azam Khan (29*) helped Islamabad United register a grand total of 196 runs on the board.
For Peshawar Zalmi, apart from Saim Ayub, Luke Wood and Salman Irshad also got a wicket each. The onus will now be on captain Babar Azam and Ayub to get the team off to a great start and guide them to victory in the match.