MULTAN, Pakistan, CMC – West Indies Twenty20 International captain Rovman Powell continued his global search for a rich vein of form heading into the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup in June with a useful knock that enabled Peshawar Zalmi to claim a thrilling, five-run win against Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League yesterday.
The Jamaican batsman made 23 and was one of a handful of Zalmi batsmen that got starts and failed to carry on, but they limped to a respectable 179 for eight after winning the toss and choosing to bat in the T20 match at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
Zalmi had to hold their collective nerves in the closing stages of the contest after England international Dawid Malan hit 52 off 25 balls to lead the run chase for the Sultans that eventually came up short in a match that went to the wire.
Luke Wood delivered a remarkable penultimate over of the contest, conceding only two runs, which meant that the Sultans required 22 off the final over to extend their winning streak in the six-team tournament and reinforce their position at the top of the table.
Pakistan international Iftikhar Ahmed threatened to repeat his heroics from the previous match when he cracked two fours and a six off successive deliveries in the final over from Naveen-ul-Haq – but the Afghanistan pacer got Iftikhar caught off the penultimate ball with six required to win to practically seal the deal.
It was the first win in three matches for Zalmi, who are led by Pakistan batting star Babar Azam, and the first loss for the Sultans.
Earlier, none of the Zalmi batsmen reached 50 with 18-ball 37 from Haseebullah Khan being the top-score for the visitors, but most of them, including Powell, chipped in with useful cameos.
