PSL 2022: Ruthless attack from Islamabad United openers blow Peshwar Zalmi away

If the word ‘assault’ could be personified in a cricket ground; the berserk hitting form Islamabad United openers against Peshawar Zalmi would come closest to it.

Sunday, 30 January’s first game turned out to be a horror show for Zalmi and their returning captain Wahab Riaz, who played his first game after returning from a Covid-19 infection. Given the task to defend a total of 169 runs, Zalmi were thrown off the curve from over 1 with Stirling smashing Wahab for 16 runs in the first over. The Irishman cut, pull, drove and tried to slog Wahab for a six to completely damage whatever rhythm he could have hoped to get on his return.

From there it was just one onslaught after another from both Stirling and Alex Hales as Islamabad chased the target down in just 15.5 overs with 9 wickets in hand. While Hales scored 82 off 54 balls, his attack was nothing compared to the barrage of big hits Stirling brought. The big fellow scored 57 off 25 balls before getting run out in the 10th over, and made the pitch look much easier than it felt in the first half of the innings. He hit 7 boundaries and 3 six which essentially made up 42 off his 57 runs.

Earlier in the day, Zalmi recovered from an early hit from Islamabad fast bowlers and rebuilt largely due to the efforts of Sherfane Rutherford. Down by 35/4 in 6.1 overs, Rutherford soaked in the early pressure and then launched a crucial counterattack alongside Ben Cutting who scored a crucial 28 off 17 balls. Things would have looked rather ugly against the slower balls of Islamabad players.

However, as it would stand, the rescue act was just not enough as the bowling attack in Sohail Khan, Usman Qadir and Ben Cutting were picked apart for a total of 105 runs in their eight overs to make easy work for United.

With the win in their first game, Islamabad took an incredible advantage in terms of run rate that could come handy later in the tournament.