Cricket Highlights, 21 Jun: PSL 2021 (Qualifier & Eliminator 1), IND vs NZ (WTC Final – Day 4)

The Qualifier match of the PSL 6 between Multan Sultans and Islamabad United, the Eliminator 1 match of the PSL 6 between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings rolled on the field, & the 4th day of the ICC WTC Final between India and New Zealand has been washed away due to rain. Let’s have a glimpse over the article to know about the exciting moments of the PSL matches and the happenings till now of the ICC WTC final.

PSL 2021 – Qualifier (Islamabad United vs Multan Sultans)

The top two teams of the PSL 2021 league stage, Multan Sultans and Islamabad United met in the qualifier match on Monday night. The Sultans advanced to the PSL final as the first team to win by an easy 31 runs thanks to the batting and bowling skills of the Sultans.

Shan Masood and Shoaib Maqsood gave a good start to Sultans, they won the toss and elected to bat. These two batsmen made a pair of 53 runs. Shan scored 25 before being dismissed in the 8th over. However, Shoaib returned to the pavilion after playing an innings of 59 off 41 balls with 7 fours and 3 sixes. Rilee Rossouw, who came down to number four, returned with 0 runs. Then a storm was raised by Johnson Charles, who smashed 3 fours and 3 sixes and scored 41 runs off 21 balls.

Khushdil (42*) was the man to take the Sultans to 180 in the end. Khushdil hit 4 sixes in the last 4 balls of the 19th over by Akif Javed. He scored 29 runs in the 19th over, and the Sultans got a big collection of 180 runs.

United lost 3 wickets for just 14 runs in a decent mixture of slower, cutter, and swing of Sohail Tanvir to chase this big target. Colin Munro and Shadab Khan returned before opening their book of scoring. Asif Ali made only 1 run. Left-arm Australian opener Usman Khawaja, however, continued to fight even after such a start. However, he did not find anyone as his worthy partner. Khawaja, who kept the team’s hopes alive, scored 70 off 40 balls with 9 fours and 1 six. For the Sultans, Tanvir took 3 wickets for just 17 runs in 4 overs with the ball in hand and won the man of the match award. Besides, Muzurabani took 3 wickets and Imran Tahir took 2 wickets.

Despite losing this match, Islamabad is not out of the tournament yet. They will face Peshawar Zalmi in the second eliminator match today. If they win this match, the team will meet Multan again in the final.

Scoreboard:
Multan Sultans – 180/5 (20.0)
Islamabad United – 149/10 (19.0)
Result – Multan Sultans won by 31 runs
Player of the Match – Sohail Tanvir

PSL 2021 – Eliminator 1 (Peshawar Zalmi vs Karachi Kings)

Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi faced off in the first eliminator match of PSL 2021 on Monday night. In this important match, Peshawar Zalmi got a great victory of 5 wickets in the batting of Hazratullah Zazai.

After losing the toss and coming down to bat first, Kings’ batsman Babar Azam started batting very slowly. In the 15th over, he returned to the dressing room after playing an innings of 53 off 45 balls. After Babar’s departure, Karachi made 74 off the remaining 33 balls. Where the major contribution was made by Thisara. In the end, Kings got a big collection of 175 runs thanks to his stormy innings of 37 runs from 18 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes. Wahab Riaz, Irfan, and Asif took 2 wickets each for Peshawar.

In reply to 175, Peshawar scored 49 runs in just 4.4 overs. Kamran Akmal returned to the dressing room with 13 runs off 12 balls. Zazai continued to play with aggression on the other side. Thanks to his stormy batting, Peshawar was on the way to victory from the beginning. Zazai played a devastating inning of 77 runs off 38 balls with 10 fours and 5 sixes. After Zazai returned in the 12th over of the innings, Shoaib Malik (30) and Sherfane Rutherford (17*) did the rest. After losing 5 wickets and keeping 1 ball in hand, Peshawar reached the port of victory and got the ticket of the second eliminator.

After winning this match, Peshawar is getting a chance to play the second eliminator. Their opponent is Islamabad United in the fight to reach the final tonight. Islamabad came in the second eliminator after losing to Multan Sultans in the qualifier match.

Scoreboard:
Karachi Kings – 175/7 (20.0)
Peshawar Zalmi – 176/5 (19.5)
Result – Peshawar Zalmi won by 5 wickets
Player of the Match – Hazratullah Zazai

IND vs NZ (WTC Final – Day 4)

The first day of the final match of the ICC World Test Championship washed away due to the rain. Even the toss was not possible on that day. The situation was the same on the fourth day as well on Monday. Not a single ball was rolled on the field all day. The game was played in the middle of these two days, but it rained repeatedly. In four days, the two teams have played 141.1 overs in a total of two innings. The final of the World Test Championship is about to be ruined due to rain. And the spectators and supporters are very angry with the ICC. They are raising the questions about staging the first-ever ICC WTC Final in England.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen is also angry alongside the spectators. Rain was forecast in advance. It is still raining in England at this time. It continues to rain more or less all over the country. Kevin Pietersen said it was not the right decision to hold an important match like the World Test Championship Final in England at this time.

Scoreboard:
India (1st Innings) – 217/10 (92.1)
New Zealand (1st Innings) – 101/2 (49.0)

One of the world’s finest franchise leagues, the PSL, and the Final of the ICC World Test Championship is going on with some great actions. Predict the winners of them and play on Baji!