Islamabad United captain Shadab Khan made an absolutely sensational catch to dismiss Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam in Playoff 2 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024 at the National Stadium, Karachi, on Saturday, March 16.
Babar Azam has been in excellent form with the bat in the current edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). However, he failed to deliver on two crucial occasions for his Peshawar Zalmi team.
In the Qualifier against Multan Sultans, Peshawar captain Zalmi batted very slowly and could only score 46 runs off 42 balls. His innings consisted of just 5 fours and he also put pressure on his batsmen with his poor hitting. Many expected him to improve on his performance in Eliminator 2, but Peshawar captain Zalmi failed again as he returned to the hut after scoring 25 runs off 22 balls, 2 fours and 1 six.
He was dismissed by leading pacer Nassem Shah in the eighth over of the first innings. In the fourth ball of the over, Naseem Shah bowled a long delivery around the off stump and Babar Azam tried to smash it to mid-wicket. However, Shadab Khan was stationed there and turned into Superman to complete the capture. He timed his jump perfectly and made sure to finish Babar Azam’s innings.
Watch: Shadab Khan uses blinder to stun Peshawar captain Zalmi
A bird, a plane? No, it’s SUPERMAN SHADAB KHAN 😱#HBLPSL9 | #KhulKeKhel | #PZvIU pic.twitter.com/PZFbd2ZNHV
— Pakistan Super League (@thePSLt20) March 16, 2024
Overall, Babar Azam scored 569 runs in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024 at an astonishing average of 56.9 and a good strike rate of 142.6. He has surpassed 1 century and 5 half-centuries in the competition, but has not been able to take a step forward on the big occasions.
Talking about Eliminator 2, Islamabad United won the toss and opted to play first in the match. Speaking at the toss, Shadab Khan said that his strength is bowling and that he wanted to rely on it. He said:
“We want to rely on our strength and we want to bowl first. I hope it’s a good game. We need to get the basics right and execute plans to put pressure on the opposition. I think there will be little bounce on this pitch and it will help fast bowlers as it will be reversed. “We are going with the same team.”
Meanwhile, Babar said at the toss that he had told his teammates to give their all in the do-or-die encounter against Islamabad United. He elaborated:
“You don’t think about these things as a captain (about going out and how batting depends on me), it’s about assessing the conditions and we will look to do well in the powerplay. It is a game of life or death for us and the message to our teammates is to give 100%, enjoy your day.”
Peshawar Zalmi (playing XI) for The Eliminator 2: Saim Ayub, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Haris(w), Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Hussain Talat, Rovman Powell, Aamer Jamal, Luke Wood, Mehran Mumtaz, Arif Yaqoob, Khurram Shahzad
Islamabad United (Playing XI) for The Eliminator 2: Martin Guptill, Alex Hales, Agha Salman, Shadab Khan(c), Azam Khan(w), Faheem Ashraf, Haider Ali, Imad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Hunain ShahObed McCoy