Sherfane Rutherford’s Peshawar Zalmi secured a five-wicket win over the Quetta Gladiators in their first game of the 2022 Pakistan Super League (PSL) in Karachi today.
Zalmi won the toss and elected to field first but were left to regret that decision when Quetta openers Ahsan Ali and Will Smeed put on a massive 155-run partnership for the first wicket before Ali was dismissed for 73 in the 16th over.
Smeed, a 20-year-old Englishman, was eventually dismissed for 97, in the final over, to see the Gladiators finish with a formidable 190-4 off their 20 overs.
Smeed’s 97 came off 62 balls with 11 fours and four sixes.
Pakistani Usman Qadir was the best bowler for Zalmi with 2-20 off his four overs.
Openers Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Yasir Khan put on 43 for the first wicket before Khan was dismissed in the fourth over for 30 off 12 balls.
Kohler-Cadmore was next to go for 22 to leave the Zalmi 62-2.
Jamaica Tallawahs batsman Haider Ali also contributed 19 before the chase was spearheaded by Hussain Talat and captain Shoaib Malik with scores of 52 off 29 balls and 48 not out off 32 balls, respectively.
Rutherford also contributed 10 runs off nine balls to put them on the brink of victory, being dismissed in the final over with three runs to win.
Malik then hit the winning runs to close the innings on 191-5.
Mohammed Nawaz took 3-44 from four overs for the Gladiators.
The 2022 PSL started yesterday with the Multan Sultans beating the Karachi Kings by seven wickets.