Islamabad United go to the top of PSL standings

Dubai - Duminy, Ali, Patel and Gohar star in win over Peshawar Zalmi

For the second successive day Islamabad United came up with a clinical performance. On Thursday they thrashed Lahore Qalandars by six wickets and on Friday under floodlights they handed Peshawar Zalmi a 26-run defeat on their way to top the HBL Pakistan Super League standings with 10 points followed by Multan Sultans on nine.
Put into bat, Islamabad got the start they needed from Jean-Paul Duminy and Luke Ronchi. But just when Ronchi, fresh from his 77 against Lahore, looked like creating an encore when Wahab Riaz got him to hand Liam Dawson a catch. His 27 from 17 balls with six fours had set the ball rolling and Duminy and Hussain Talat maintained that momentum to keep Islamabad on course for a big total.
Talat chipped in with 29 from 24 balls but his wicket and that of Shadab Khan's (run-out) brought Peshawar back in the match only for them to lose that grip after Duminy and Asif Ali sent their bowlers on a leather hunt.
Asif played an uncharacteristically explosive innings to reach his 45 from just 24 balls after belting four sixes and two fours.
Once he departed, Duminy took charge and carried his bat through for a strokeful 73 from 54 balls. His innings was studded with four sixes and six fours as Islamabad posted their highest total of 182 for 5 in the tournament so far.
Peshawar never looked like making a match of it after left-arm spinner Samit Patel removed the top three batsmen -- Kamran Akmal (22), Andre Fletcher (19) and Dwayne Smith (8) -- while Zafar Gohar cleaned up the middle with three wickets, including the prized scalp of Darren Sammy. The captain's wicket forced most Zalmi fans to leave the stadium.
But those who stayed back got to see some late fireworks from the blades of Hasan Ali (15 from 7 balls, 1x4, 1x6), Wahab Riaz (33 not out from 25 balls, 5x4) and Umaid Asif (25 from 17, 1x4, 2x6).
Samit returned to remove Hasan and also take a neat catch at long off but it was Duminy who walked away with the Man-of-the-Match award.
clareto@khaleejtimes.com