In spite of their captain Babar Azam’s ferocious 75-run innings and Mohammad Haris quick 41-run innings, the Zalmi were able to raise 156/8 in 20 overs when they batted first.
Together, the two batters scored 72 runs in 42 balls for the first wicket.
The Islamabad United captain, Shadab Khan, was the first to break through when he caught and bowled Haris (40 off 21) in the seventh over. Mubasir Khan then bowled Saim Ayub. However, Hasan Ali’s double strike in the 10th over was the innings’s highlight.
The second batter to leave was Saim Ayub, who was bowled out by emerging Islamabad player Mubasir Khan with a sensational delivery. The left-handed batter left with only three runs scored.
Zalmi failed to recover from the collapse and continued to lose wickets at an alarming rate, preventing them from reaching a significant total.
Babar, on the other hand, stood his ground and batted all the way through, but Zalmi couldn’t reach a big score thanks to the United’s precise bowling.
He scored 75 runs without losing a hit, including seven boundaries and a maximum.
Despite his partner Colin Munro’s poor performance, Gurbaz, one of United’s openers, gave his team a strong start, scoring just nine.
With United already in control of the run chase with a score of 80-1, Rahmanullah was impossible to stop on the powerplay. United went on to win their second of three matches thanks to the right-handed batter’s 62 runs off just 31 balls. His powerful hit had four maximums and seven boundaries.
On his way to 61 runs, Gurbaz struck seven boundaries and four sixes against just 31 balls.
At the end of the eighth, Rassie van der Dussen (42 off 29) smashed Usman for back-to-back fours to keep his team in control. At the end of the 12th, Asif Ali launched the leg-spinner for two massive sixes off consecutive balls as Islamabad United continued to sail smoothly toward the goal. At the end of the 13th, Van der Dussen was bowled by Wahab Riaz, but there were no more problems, and on the penultimate ball of the 15th, Azam Khan hit a six over midwicket to put Islamabad United over the line.
As a result of Gurbaz’s stunning half-century, the United were able to comfortably steer to a six-wicket victory with 31 balls remaining, despite being set to chase just 157.