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Farhan's 106 blows away Zalmi for United's second win
It was the second successive win for United and the second straight loss for Zalmi
Danyal Rasool
14-Apr-2025
Sahibzada Farhan smashed 106 off 52 balls • PCB
Islamabad United 243 for 5 (Farhan 106, Munro 40) beat Peshawar Zalmi 141 (Haris 87, Wasim 3-26, Dwarshuis 2-23) by 102 runs
A century from Sahibzada Farhan powered Islamabad United to their second successive blowout win. Peshawar Zalmi were the unfortunate opponents, brushed aside for the second time in as many matches as they succumbed to a 102-run defeat.
An onslaught of sustained power hitting from United's stable of big hitters saw them post 243 - the highest score in this edition. Zalmi were never in contention despite the best efforts of Mohammad Haris' 47-ball 87. Imad Wasim and Naseem Shah eased the batters out of the way relatively early in the chase before Zalmi folded for 141.
United opted to bat first this time, and it was immediately obvious this pitch was more conducive to batting than the tournament opener. Alzarri Joseph conceded just three in the first over before USA's Andries Gous fell in the next, but once Farhan cracked his first boundary, United cut loose. 73 came in the powerplay, 22 of which Farhan pillaged in one over from Under-19 pace bowler Ali Raza.
But, as has been the trend this season, the fireworks didn't stop once the field spread out. Sufiyan Muqeem, Zalmi's best bowler, went for 16 in the ninth over, and 16 more in his third as Colin Munro, who had been largely content operating in Farhan's slipstream, began to take centrestage.
By now, Farhan had brought up a 49-ball hundred, and though Joseph returned to remove the pair within four balls of each other, United had by now amassed 163 with six overs still to go.
Zalmi had left the wicket-taking too late, and United had enough remnant firepower to continue their attack. Azam Khan, Salman Ali, Jason Holder and Ben Dwarshuis all chipped in with cameos to add 80 off the last six.
It was a total Babar Azam is, in truth, ill-suited to help chase down, so his early departure, nicking off to first slip off Dwarshuis on his third delivery, didn't tilt the scales much. But Mitchell Owen, promoted after his cameo against Quetta Gladiators over the weekend, fell the following over, and Saim Ayub followed suit cheaply. By the end of the fourth over, Zalmi were 26 for 3, the asking rate was already close to 14, and the contest was on the brink of collapse.
An individual effort was never going to salvage things, much as Haris tried. His absence of form in T20 cricket of late has been both a Zalmi and Pakistan concern, but he was brutally effective, picking up Drawshuis for a four and six the following over, and plundering two sixes in a 17-run over off Holder after the powerplay.
But team support was in short supply. Wasim held the nagging line that makes him so difficult to dispatch, and brought about Tom Kohler-Cadmore's dismissal on his return in the ninth over. The game entered a pattern which saw Haris find the boundary regularly in the overs that followed, only to lose one partner after another.
He knew it couldn't last, and it was perhaps fitting Wasim applied the coup de grace. Haris slapped him over midwicket to get up to 87 before finally failing to get underneath one and hole out to long-on; it was the ninth Zalmi wicket to fall. Two overs later, Dwarshuis cleaned up Mohammad Ali as the trophy holders swiftly put themselves in pole position for another tilt at the title.
