- Mohammad Amir bowled good bouncer to Babar Azam.
- Amir took one wicket in four overs.
- Gladiators won by 16 runs.
Mohammad Amir, the fast bowler for Quetta Gladiators, has disclosed what Babar Azam, the captain of Peshawar Zalmi, said after he bowled a good bouncer during the second match of the ninth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Amir delivered a bouncer that was missed by the ex-Pakistan captain in the third over of the Zalmi chase. This middle-ground duel between the two has become a PSL rivalry that netizens have enjoyed.
“He is a good player but my role has always been to pick wickets of the top batter,” Amir stated in a press conference following Quetta’s 16-run victory over Peshawar.
“The instance you highlighted was regarding the bouncer which he said that it went quickly and couldn’t understand,” he responded to the reporter.
It’s worth noting that Amir bowled an economical spell of 1-29 in his debut match for Quetta.
Meanwhile, Babar was the top scorer for his team, hitting 68 runs off 42 balls with eight boundaries, but his efforts were in vain as his team fell short of the 207-run target set by the Gladiators.
Zalmi had an exciting start, with Saim Ayub and Azam well positioned on the crease as they were approaching 100 for no loss. However, a misunderstanding between the two batters in the ninth over resulted in a significant setback.
Saim was run out after scoring 42 runs, leaving his team at 91-1 in 8.4 overs. Mohammad Haris came in after the left-handed batter’s departure but he too was dismissed shortly after scoring just 7 runs.
Azam remained on the crease, continuing to score for his team, but the Zalmi skipper mistimed his shot on a ball from mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed and was caught by Mohammad Wasim Jr.
The wickets continued to fall and the exceptional effort by the Gladiators’ bowlers limited Zalmi to 190 for six wickets, winning the match by 16 runs.
Earlier in the first innings, Jason Roy and Saud Shakeel caused chaos as they thrashed Zalmi’s bowler all over the ground and built a 157-run partnership.
Shakeel was dismissed after scoring a brilliant 74 off 47, adorned with ten boundaries, which included four sixes as well.
Gladiators’ skipper Rilee Rossouw joined the party and hit a six off the first ball, followed by a boundary two balls later, but Mohammad Zeeshan bowled him out in the next over to end his brief stay.
Roy was dismissed by Salman Irshad in the 18th over with 185 runs on the board after playing a clinical knock of 75 runs from 48 balls, featuring nine boundaries and two sixes.
Sherfane Rutherford played a 20-run cameo off 13 balls before getting out in the last over, followed by Mohammad Wasim who scored a boundary and departed on the next ball.
Khawaja Nafay (6) hit the last ball for four to lift the team’s total to 206 in their allocated 20 overs.
Irshad led the bowling charts for the Peshawar Zalmi with figures of 3-38, while Wood and Zeeshan contributed with one wicket each.