Peshawar Zalmi 246 for 3 (Mendis 109, Babar 87) beat Karachi Kings 87 (Rana 3-7, Iftikhar 3-9) by 159 runs

Kings’ captain David Warner got the pitch wrong, terming it a ‘day five’ surface, and their fielders fumbled regularly, as Mendis was afforded a reprieve and regulation cuts went to the fence.

Zalmi, from their end, produced a pitch-perfect performance. Mendis (109 off 52) smashed the fastest century by a Zalmi batter and produced a record 191-run stand with Babar, who was undefeated on 87 off 51 balls. The two put together the highest-ever PSL partnership of 191 runs before Abdul Samad’s 12-ball 40 took Zalmi to their highest-ever total: 246. Zalmi’s bowlers then skittled Kings for just 87 – the lowest PSL score in Karachi – inside 16.1 overs.

The first innings was a delight for traditionalists as Babar and Mendis – two of the most technically sound batters around – produced sumptuous cuts, drives, flicks, and sweeps with occasional improvisations behind the wicket. The experience these two brought offset any pressure that the second-ball wicket of Mohammad Haris may have brought on the Zalmi dugout. They took turns in hitting boundaries from the second over and had their side sitting comfortably at 66 for 1 after the powerplay.

Mendis raced to 50 in only 26 balls and Babar followed him by crossing the milestone in 32 balls. He went onto become the fastest man to 12,000 T20 runs – a landmark he reached in 338 innings, five better from Chris Gayle – with a six off Khushdil Shah.

Their partnership – the highest ever in the tournament’s history – was dominated by Mendis who contributed 109 runs through his sheer mastery of pace and spin. He eventually brought up his century in 48 balls.

A total beyond 200 had become certain after Zampa was tonked for 18 in the 13th over, which took Zalmi to 150 for 1, but that they would go so far was because of a sparkling 40-run cameo from Samad. He plundered Abbas Afridi for three sixes in the penultimate over and Mir Hamza for three fours and a six in the final over to take the game out of the home side’s reach. Kings badly missed Hasan Ali, who has bowled at only 4.80 runs per over in the death this season and had to sit this game out because of fever.

It took only seven balls for Zalmi to dismiss Kings’ openers – Warner and Muhammad Waseem – and Salman Ali Agha was removed at the start of the third over, leaving the hosts reeling at 8 for 3. Zalmi did not have to face any resistance on their way to victory as Kings fell for 87, with ftikhar, Nahid Rana, and Sufyan Muqeem taking three wickets each.