Peshawar Zalmi 199 for 5 (Kohler-Cadmore 92, Babar 68, Hamza 1-13) beat Karachi Kings 197 for 5 (Imad 80*, Malik 52, Neesham 2-26) by 2 runs
He blitzed along, but Babar was catching up, too. After a slash against Imad – who conceded 42 in his three overs – brought up Babar’s 50, he took the attack to Andrew Tye, plundering 16 off the 15th over before holding out against Imran Tahir.
That this game went so deep was partially down to a resilient fightback with the ball from Kings, who dominated the final five overs with the ball. Zalmi could score just 43 in this period, punctuated by regular wickets, and even Kohler-Cadmore lost his touch slightly. Seemingly nailed on for three figures, he ultimately found the square leg fielder against Ben Cutting in the final over, finishing a breathtaking innings with 92 off 50.
But what a resistance it was. Early on, they only appeared to inject respectability into the scoreline, but when Shakib Al Hasan was carted for 21 in an over, the chase suddenly felt plausible. What followed at the death wasn’t necessarily high quality, with unforced errors in the field largely keeping Kings alive, but what it lacked in class it made up for in drama. The final three overs each saw a no-ball, two dropped catches and a missed run-out. By now, Malik had fallen and Cutting couldn’t quite find his touch right away, leaving it all down to Imad. He would keep going valiantly until the bitter finish, but in a clash that was as much about Babar vs Imad as it was Zalmi vs Kings, it was the Pakistan captain who tasted the sweet elixir of victory.