Hodge hit 85 off 45 balls for the Peshawar Zalmi while Haddin struck 54 off 42 for Islamabad United, as the two destructive batsmen guided their respective sides to victory in the final two pool matches of the PSL in Dubai.
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Zalmi Captain Afridi placed fifth in the league with nine wickets in eight matches.
Wahab Riaz was brilliant with the ball grabbing three wickets for only 17 runs while his fast bowling partner Shaun Tait took two wickets for 23 runs. With the win, Ahmed Shehzad led-Gladiators are through to the final of the PSL and Zalmi will have one more go as they’ll take on the victor of 2nd qualifying final on Sunday. However, they have a replacement in Brad Hodge. After that it was only Mohammad Nawaz who could score in double figures.
Muhammad Nawaz was declared man of the match he captured three wickets.
Quetta Gladiators vs Peshawar Zalmi… Afridi was the pick of the bowlers as he took 5-7 in 4 overs.
For the Gladiators, McCullum comes in place of Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi who has linked up with the national team for the Asia Cup Twenty20.
With some breathtaking finishes giving the spectators their money’s worth, the Pakistan Cricket Board has plenty to cheer about following the uncertainty that dogged the event which was planned a few years ago but only saw the light of the day earlier this month. Yet two weeks after a spectacular opening ceremony, Pakistan’s T20 league has generated great buzz.
They went down by five wickets and it proved to be a costly miss as the Qalandars failed to make the play-offs and were left to pack their bags from the inaugural Pakistan Super League.
Speaking at the toss, Afridi said they have made two changes for the match as Jonny Bairstow comes in for Tamim Iqbal and youngster Hassan Ali gets a game.
A lot of people had said that PSL was a chance for the youngsters to share the dressing room with the veterans and learn the art of pressure-handling and decision making, but one player who found his prime in the tournament was the experienced Umar Akmal.
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Quetta Gladiators: Bismillah Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Kevin Pietersen, Kumar Sangakkara, Sarfraz Ahmed (captain/wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Grant Elliott, Nathan McCullum, Anwar Ali, Zulfiqar Babar and Aizaz Cheema. Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal started the proceedings for the Zalmi team.
