Babar Azam Leads Peshawar Zalmi to Tight Victory over Karachi Kings in PSL8

Karachi Kings faced off against Peshawar Zalmi in a thrilling match during PSL8, with the latter emerging victorious by a narrow margin of two runs. The game marked the return of Babar Azam to Karachi, this time leading the Zalmi side after having played 66 matches for the Kings.

Zalmi batted first and suffered a shaky start, losing two wickets in the second over and slumping to 16 for 2. However, Azam and Tom Kohler-Cadmore stepped up and built a strong partnership, adding 139 runs for the third wicket off just 81 balls. Kohler-Cadmore was the standout performer, scoring an impressive 92 runs off just 50 balls, while Azam contributed a quickfire half-century against his former club. The Zalmi side eventually finished with a total of 199 for 5.

In response, the Kings struggled early on, losing three wickets in the powerplay and later finding themselves at 46 for 4 within seven overs. Despite this, Shoaib Malik and Imad Wasim rallied together and put on a spectacular 131-run partnership for the fifth wicket, taking the Kings from a seemingly certain defeat to a possible victory. Malik contributed a half-century before being caught behind by Mohammad Haris off the bowling of Wahab Riaz in the penultimate over, leaving the Kings 23 runs shy of victory with 10 balls remaining.

Despite Wasim's valiant efforts, scoring 80 not out, Zalmi managed to hold on for a narrow win. Riaz made the crucial breakthrough by dismissing Malik, while Khurram Shahzad kept his nerve in the final over, conceding only seven runs to ensure that Wasim's final ball six was not enough to secure a win for the Kings. In the end, Zalmi emerged victorious by just two runs.