Islamabad United eliminate Peshawar Zalmi from PSL

Islamabad United Thursday defeated Peshawar Zalmi by five wickets in the eliminator 1 of the Pakistan Super League's (PSL) seventh edition to keep their hopes of reaching the finals alive at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium.

The United will now clash with Lahore Qalandars in eliminator 2 tomorrow (Friday) — and the winner of the match will face Multan Sultans in the final.

Chasing a target of 170, Alex Hales half century and cameos from Shadab Khan, Azam Khan and Faheem Ashraf kept them in the game. Hales scored 62 runs off 49 balls hitting three sixes and six boundaries.

Shadab made useful 22 off 17 and Azam 28 off 22 balls. Needing 10 runs in the last over, Azam was out on the first ball but Liam Dawson hit a six and boundary on the next two balls to ensure his team stays in the tournament.

Earlier, Peshawar Zalmi scored 169 runs for the loss of five wickets.

The United bowlers kept things tight as Zalmi batters didn't score runs quickly, as they lost in-form opener Mohammad Haris for 12 runs by Faheem Ashraf.

Opener Kamran Akmal continued to carve out runs, while Yasir Khan was also removed for eight runs. Karman got out for 58 runs by United skipper Shadab Khan with Zalmi's score of 98 runs on the board.

Shoaib Malik and Hussain Talat forged a crucial 56 runs stand to take Zalmi to the 150 run mark. Hussain scored 28 runs, while Malik scored 55.

For United, Hasan Ali took three wickets for 30 runs in four overs, while Shadab and Faheem picked one.

Earlier, Zalmi had won the toss and elected to bat first against United.