Gladiators Decimate Zalmi To Grab Fourth Place On Points Table

LAHORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Apr, 2025) Some inspirational bowling performance by the Quetta Gladiators bowlers, led by Mohammad Amir, blew away Peshawar Zalmi batting line-up and beat Zalmi by 64 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Sunday night.

Chasing a competitive total of 178, Zalmi’s batting proved house of cards as Gladiators bowlers played havoc with their defenses and the Zalmi could only score 114-10, their lowest total in PSL history. It was Zalmi’s second consecutive defeat against the Gladiators this season as they had earlier lost against them by a margin of 80 runs after Quetta had scored 216 runs. The win also helped Gladiators snatch fourth spot on teh points-table from Zalmi and push them to the fifth.

Babar Azam – Mohmmad Amir rivalry also became more intense as the experienced quick bowler picked Babar Azam for the second time in as many matches this season. Babar had reviewed the umpire’s decision of lbw but the replays showed that the was plumb in front of the wickets when he was hit by Mohammad Amir’s ball which swung a bit too much as per Babar’s expectation.

Hussain Talat 39 (24) was the only bowler who put up some resistance while the rest of the batting line-up faltered. Babar Azam 12 (8) had started well as he hit a boundary and a six in Faheem Ashraf’s over but he lost focus as he fell in the third over of the Zalmi innings. Saim Ayub continued his poor form with the bat although he did well with the ball. Mohammad Haris had the opportunity to express himself and do well for his team but lapse of concentration or, as Babar Azam put it in the post-match press conference, lack of game sawareness and fell for 17 (16). Mitchell Owen 15 (8) was the only other batter to enter double figure while the rest of the batters struggled in face some rare accurate bowling performance.

It was also second time in a row that Gladiators had defended totals as their bowlers had defended 142 runs against Karachi Kings in a low-scoring contest at the same venue a few nights ago. Their formidable bowling line-up has so far emerged as the best pack of bowlers.

Faheem Ashraf, player of the match, picked a fifer and conceded 33 runs in his 3.2 overs. Khurram Shahzad displayed some excellent pace and length as he conceded only 9 runs off his three overs. Mojhmmad Wasim Jr and Abrar Ahmed shared one wicket between them in three overs each for 21 and 30 runs respectively. Mohammad Amir, who claimed the prized scalp of ace-batter Babar Azam, conceded 18 runs for one wicket off three overs.

Earlier, Quetta Gladiators posted a competitive total of 178-9 after Zalmi won the toss and invited Gladiators to bat first. Quetta Gladiators did not live up to the promise the batters showed in the early part of the innings and ended up scoring 178-7 against Peshawar Zalmi.

Gladiators had started well and looked on course to set a target beyond 200 for the Zalmi’s but some effective bowling changes put the brakes on the scoring rate. Four of the five top order batters hit 30s but no one could hit a fifty or beyond. Mark Chapman 33 (26) was the highest run-getter for Gladiators while Saud Shakeel 32 (26), Finn Allen 31 (16), Rilee Rossouw 27 (18) and Kusla Mendis 32 (27) contributed to the team total.

Hasan Nawaz 8 (4), demoted in the batting order, was run out while Faheem Ashraf 1 (2) became the third victim of Alzarri Joseph who was the most successful bowler for the Zalmi with three scalps for 33 runs.

Saim Ayub pressed his case as an all-rounder as he was the most economical bowler for the Zalmi conceding 24 runs for two wickets. Sufyan Muqeem looked out of sorts and gave away 33 runs in four wicketless overs. Luke Wood picked one wicket in his last over while he conceded 35 runs in his quota of four overs.

Young sensation Ali Raza was expensive and wicketless as he conceded 48 runs off his four overs. Rossouw took special liking to the rookie bowler and plundered four 4s in his first over. Poor fielding also contributed to the poor bowling figures for Ali Raza. Babar Azam conceded two boundaries through misfielding off Ali’s bowling.