Hodge inspiration guides Peshawar to top of table

Australian’s unbeaten 85 guides Zalmi to five-wicket win over Karachi


News Desk February 18, 2016
Peshawar ended the group stages on a high after finishing as the tournament’s best team so far going. PHOTO COURTESY: PCB



Former Australia batsman Brad Hodge inspired Peshawar Zalmi to a comfortable five-wicket win over Karachi Kings to ensure they finish the group stages top of the table in the HBL Pakistan Super League at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.


The 41-year-old Hodge rolled back the years with some big hits at the end of the innings as his unbeaten 85 off 45 took Peshawar over the line as they chased down Karachi’s 153 with nine balls to spare.

Peshawar Zalmi can win PSL: Sammy

Hodge came in to bat with Peshawar’s innings floundering at 25-2 and got off to a patient start early on.

However, he made all his experience count as he targeted young leg-spinner Usama Mir in the 16th over. With 23 coming off that over off Hodge’s bat, the run-rate went from 11-an-over down to a much more manageable eight.

Hodge then smashed Mohammad Amir for another maximum in the next over before following it up with two more blows out of the park off Ravi Bopara to all but seal the game and take his personal tally to an astonishing six fours and as many sixes.

Darren Sammy then finished the game off in style with a six over mid-wicket with the scores tied.

PSL 2016: Peshawar beat Islamabad by seven wickets

Hodge later revealed he had been told by Afridi to get himself in, with an eye on the upcoming play-off match. “Boom Boom [Afridi] had some instructions for me to get myself in, with the play-offs coming up,” said man of the match Hodge.

Earlier on, Shoaib Malik had won the toss and opted to bat first in a match that Karachi needed to win in order to ensure qualification into the play-offs.

A solid opening stand between Lendl Simmons and Shahzaib Hasan gave the Karachi side a good platform but like several of their recent innings, they never managed to really go crazy as boundaries dried up.

Simmons was the top scorer for Karachi, scoring 49 off 37 before chopping on a Shahid Afridi-delivery that drifted into the right-hander.

PSL 2016: Afridi, Malan inspire Peshawar to eight-wicket win over Quetta

Bilawal Bhatti gave the innings some momentum late on with 15 off nine balls but Malik would once again have been left aggrieved by his batsmen’s inability to up the ante in the latter part of the innings.

The 152-run total would have been all the more galling considering Peshawar’s frontline trio of pacers — Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan and Shaun Tait — were all rested for the game.

Peshawar will now take on Quetta Gladiators in the first play-off, with the winner going into the final. The loser will take on the winner of the play-off between third and fourth place in order to determine the other finalist. 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18th,  2016.

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