DUBAI // Sarfraz Ahmed and Sir Viv Richards may have celebrated victory prematurely, but they did not have to wait for too much longer, as Quetta Gladiators beat Peshawar Zalmi with three wickets and one ball to spare.
They thought they had done it easier than that when Elton Chigumbura hit a sweet pull shot off Wahab Riaz with six required in the final over.
He was hitting to the long boundary, though, and it fell some yards short, meaning captain Sarfraz’s euphoric pitch invasion had been mistimed.
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Kevin Pietersen, Quetta’s batting star, threw his bat about 20 feet in the air in despair after firing a catch to Shahid Afridi when the game was in his grasp.
The former England batsman had appeared to be marshaling the run chase perfectly at that point. With him gone, the chances of success seemed suddenly limited.
Chigumbura and Anwar Ali managed to get them over the line at the last, though.
With the likes of Afridi, Pietersen, and Shaun Tait playing, this match involved a variety of the world’s most noted T20 players.
Darren Sammy, a World T20 winning captain of West Indies, showed why his services are so valued in tournament’s of this type, as he hoisted Zalmi to a defendable total.
The expressive St Lucian pumped his fist in celebration at all manner of things during his stay at the wicket, including when a wide was sent down.
Most times, though, it was when he or a colleague sent one over the boundary. Sammy hit four sixes himself, as he made 48 from No 7 in the order.
After his cameo helped Zalmi post a target of 136, Afridi did his bit, picking up two wickets in a thrifty four overs. The Peshawar side fell short, though.
pradley@thenational.ae
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