PSL 2022: Will Smeed’s 99 in vain as Quetta Gladiators lose to Peshawar Zalmi

Young England batter Will Smeed of Quetta Gladiators fell short of his maiden T20 century for the second time in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022 as Peshawar Zalmi recorded a 24-run win. The 20-year-old Smeed had scored 97 against the Zalmi in the first leg of the PSL 2022 at Karachi and played another blistering knock of 99 off 60 balls before Quetta got restricted at 161/8 on Tuesday (February 15).

Veteran T20 all-rounder Shoaib Malik (58) and Hussain Talat (51) had earlier scored half-centuries in Peshawar’s total of 185/7 after their skipper Wahab Riaz won the toss and took a bold decision to bat first. Fast bowler Naseem Shah (4/27) celebrated his 19th birthday with a four-wicket haul, but after Malik and Talat’s fifties, Ben Cutting cut loose in the death overs by smashing 36 off just 14 balls which propelled Peshawar’s total.

GONE ON 99! @Salman150kph lights up the stumps \||
Excellent innings by @will_smeed #HBLPSL7 l #LevelHai l #PZvQG pic.twitter.com/qGZ27NWrlO — PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 15, 2022

Cutting smacked left-arm fast bowler Sohail Tanvir (0/50) for four sixes in the penultimate over which cost Quetta 27 runs as both players got engaged in a midfield argument during the over. Quetta stuttered early against spinners Usman Qadir (3/25) and Liam Livingstone (1/24), but Smeed kept them in the hunt by hitting a dozen boundaries and three towering sixes before he missed a full toss from fast bowler Salman Irshad and was clean bowled in the 18th over.

Livingstone got the big wicket of Jason Roy (13) in his second over during the powerplay, and Qadir – also introduced within the first six overs – removed James Vince for his second successive duck in the tournament by clean bowling the Englishman with a superb googly.

Qadir then chipped in with two wickets in one over in the latter half, having Iftikhar Ahmed (10) caught behind off a faint edge and Umar Akmal (1) got stumped off a sharp delivery which turned enough to leave the batsman out of his crease.

Peshawar has eight points from eight games and is fourth while Quetta slipped to fifth with six points from eight matches.

Brief Scores: Peshawar Zalmi 185/7 (Shoaib Malik 58, Hussain Talat 51, Ben Cutting 36; Naseem Shah 4/27) bt Quetta Gladiators 161/8 (Will Smeed 99, Sarfaraz Ahmed 25; Usman Qadir 3/25)

(with PTI inputs)