In the 21st match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9 at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Peshawar Zalmi emerged victorious over Multan Sultans by a margin of 4 runs.

Winning the toss, Babar Azam, the captain of Multan Sultans, chose to bat first. He opened the innings with youngster Saim Ayub, while the new ball was handed to Mohammad Ali.

Saim started the innings with a six in the third ball, capitalizing on a poor delivery from Ali. Both Babar and Saim continued to punish the bowlers with consecutive boundaries in the fourth over, establishing a solid opening partnership. Zalmi reached their half-century in just 23 balls, with both openers looking formidable. By the end of the powerplay, Zalmi had reached 71/0, with Saim scoring 34 and Babar on 33.

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However, Saim’s innings came to an end at 46 due to an excellent review by Multan Sultans, followed by Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s dismissal in the ninth over. At the halfway mark, Zalmi stood at 100/2, with Babar still at the crease on 39*. Babar reached his 85th T20 half-century in the 14th over but was eventually dismissed for 64.

Despite losing wickets, Rovman Powell and Aamer Jamal’s power-hitting propelled Zalmi’s total to 204/5 at the end of their innings. Usama Mir was the most successful bowler for Multan Sultans, finishing with figures of 3/32.

Chasing a target of 205 runs, Mohammad Rizwan and Reeza Hendricks opened the innings for Multan Sultans. Rizwan got off to a strong start, hitting a six off the first ball. However, Mehran Mumtaz, making his PSL debut, dismissed Hendricks in the fifth over. Despite Rizwan’s efforts, Multan Sultans could only manage 73/2 at the end of the powerplay.

Aamer Jamal’s excellent fielding resulted in Rizwan’s dismissal for 32 in the eighth over. Dawid Malan and Tayyab Tahir attempted to accelerate the scoring rate but were dismissed in the 12th over. Despite Iftikhar Ahmed’s valiant effort of 60*, Multan Sultans fell short of the target by 4 runs, ending their innings at 200/6.

Babar Azam was awarded the Player of the Match for his impactful innings of 64 runs.