Stating that former West Indies captain Darren Sammy doesn’t need to lift a finger to guarantee his place on the immortality shelf as far as the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was concerned, ESPNCricinfo said the Peshawar captain’s heroics, hobbling out to bat on one leg, ensured he has taken pride of place on that shelf for the foreseeable future.
On Thursday, Sammy hammered 16 off only four balls and propelled his side to a victory they looked to have all but squandered, Cricinfo said.
Chasing 142, it said Peshawar had seemed on course for much of the innings, led by a disciplined — if a little sedate — 54-run partnership between Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Hafeez.
But with 35 required off the last five, the partnership was broken, and suddenly the chase went into disarray. The equation very quickly turned into 16 off the last 7 when Sammy, who was injured while bowling, dragged himself out to the crease, Cricinfo said.
“It turned out his devastating physical power was undiminished, as he smashed two sixes off his first two balls, before a straight drive in the final over saw Peshawar clinch victory with two balls to spare,” it said.
Cricinfo said Quetta Gladiators will “rue an innings that kept stuttering at crucial points, beginning with a disappointing Powerplay, before Shane Watson hit Mohammad Asghar for three sixes in an over to breathe some life into his side.”
Watson hit five sixes in a 32-ball 47, but after he was dismissed, no one apart from Rilee Rossouw was able to kick on, with 19-year-old seamer Sameen Gul — in for an injured Hasan Ali — enjoying a stellar debut.
Wahab Riaz was at his all too infrequent best, bowling yorkers at up to 150 kph and preventing Quetta from teeing off in the death overs. It turned out every one of those runs saved made a massive difference, Cricinfo said.
Scores: Peshawar Zalmi 143 for 5 (Tamim 36, Sammy 16*) beat Quetta Gladiators 141 for 8 (Watson 47, Wahab 2-16, Asif 2-18) by five wickets.
