Brad Haddin smashed 73 off 39 balls while Shane Watson took 4-44 as Kamran Akmal's 88 off 48 balls went in vain.

By Abdullah Ansari (9th February, 2016)

Islamabad United Team

Sharjeel Khan, Shane Watson, Dwayne Smith, Misbah-ul-Haq*, Brad Haddin, Sam Billings, Imran Khalid, Amad Butt, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Irfan.

Peshawar Zalmi Team

Mohammad Hafeez, Dawid Malan, Kamran Akmal, Eoin Morgan, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Darren Sammy*, Chris Jordan, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan.

Misbah won the toss and didn't hesitate to field first. However, there was an extended delay due to some remnants of the opening ceremony having to be removed. Once the match was underway, Irfan got Hafeez on the first ball as the opener edged one to slip straight away. However, Malan and Kamran counter-attacked with the latter specially going after the bowlers with aplomb. He brought up his fifty off 29 balls with Malan providing support from the other end. The latter finally fell for 43 after a 120-run partnership in just 11.1 overs but the innings slowed down a bit after that. The likes of Morgan failed and then Kamran fell as well, for a 48-ball 88 while Sammy, Afridi and co. failed to provide the lower order impetus. However, the tail managed to snatch 20 off Watson's last over despite his four-wicket haul as they ended on 190.

Smith started off well with a few boundaries but Hasan quickly got rid of the dangerous Sharjeel. However, Haddin continued where he left off in last year's PSL final as the two batsmen put on a big partnership. There was a short rain delay which saw the overs reduced, with the target 173 off 18 overs. With the required rate rising, Haddin batted more aggressively and brought up a 30-ball fifty. Smith found progress a bit tougher at the other end but Haddin went along merrily until he fell for 73 off 39 balls. Smith got to a fifty of his own off 44 balls. 26 were needed off the last two overs and it looked like there would be a tight finish but Junaid Khan bowled a no-ball that was hit for six with a subsequent six on the free hit as well as Watson killed Zalmi's hopes. Smith was dismissed but Watson finished the chase in style as Islamabad won by 7 wickets.

Next match: Lahore Qalandars vs Quetta Gladiators

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