Peshawar Zalmi emerged victorious in their game against Karachi Kings despite a nail-biting finish. Karachi Kings needed nine runs to win in the final delivery, and it was not until Imad Wasim hit a six over square leg that confirmed his side's defeat. Despite posting 199 runs and reducing Karachi Kings to 46 for 4, Zalmi kept letting them back in, with dropped catches, no-balls, missed run-outs, and a slow over rate. However, a partnership between Imad Wasim and Shoaib Malik ensured that the Kings put up a good fight. Ultimately, they fell two runs short, and Zalmi emerged as the victors.
Zalmi was off to a fluid start, but the early dismissal of their young stars set them back. The game's other sensational partnership was between Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Babar Azam, where Zalmi amassed 139 in 81 balls. Kohler-Cadmore was the aggressor-in-chief, and his lofting of Imad for three successive sixes during the final powerplay over was particularly impressive.
The game went deep due to a resilient fightback with the ball from Kings, who dominated the final five overs. Zalmi could only score 43 in this period, punctuated by regular wickets, and even Kohler-Cadmore lost his touch slightly. Zalmi was seemingly on track for a hundred, but he ultimately found the square leg fielder against Ben Cutting in the final over, finishing his breathtaking innings with 92 off 50.
Wahab Riaz and Jimmy Neesham were instrumental in removing Sharjeel Khan and Matthew Wade, respectively. Despite early sloppiness, the wickets continued to tumble, and it looked like Kings' best hope was the partnership between Malik and Imad.
Although the game was not necessarily high quality, with unforced errors in the field largely keeping Kings alive, it was full of drama. The final three overs saw a no-ball, two dropped catches, and a missed run-out. In the end, it was the Pakistan captain who tasted victory, and the game was as much about Babar vs Imad as it was Zalmi vs Kings
