Bracewell, Samad cameos deliver winning start for Zalmi

A host of breathtaking cameos headlined by Michael Bracewell and Abdul Samad powered Peshawar Zalmi to a sensational 5-wicket win against debutants Rawalpindiz in Match 3 of PSL 2026 in Lahore on Saturday (March 28).

Rawalpindiz opted to bat first in the afternoon encounter and vindicated their decision thanks to a flying start by openers Yasir Khan and Mohammad Rizwan. Pacer Ali Raza was taken to the cleaners as the fourth over of the innings produced 21 runs. The openers raced to a 50-run stand off just 25 deliveries before Rawalpindiz ended the Powerplay on 63/0.

The pitch was true to bat on and soon enough, Yasir notched up a fifty and continued to deal in boundaries even as Rizwan slowed down a touch when Sufiyan Muqeem came into the attack. Yasir ensured that the onslaught was on, before a 125-run opening stand came to an end as Rizwan miscued a wide delivery down the throat of long on.

Yasir too fell soon, top-scoring with a stellar 46-ball 83 but the momentum never dropped for the batting side as Kamran Ghulam (37 off 20) and Daryl Mitchell (23 off 13) chipped in with valuable cameos. While both batters were dismissed in the slog-overs, Sam Billings added the finishing touches to take Rawalpindiz to a total of 214.

In response, Zalmi were off to a quick start of their own as skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Haris whipped up 48 off the first four overs. A wicketless Powerplay produced 62 runs but the slowdown that followed told on the asking rate. It eventually resulted in Babar perishing for a 28-ball 39, with the opening partnership worth 78 runs. Haris departed shortly after for 47 before Aaron Hardie endured a rusty 8-run stay in the middle.

Kusal Mendis did up the ante but the asking rate still shot above the 14-mark. Once he was dismissed, Zalmi needed 85 to win off the last 35 balls when the strategic timeout was taken. It was after that when Samad and Bracewell flicked a switch, hammering sixes at will. 18 runs came off a Rishad Hossain over before Naseem Shah also failed to keep things tight in the 17th over. With 40 runs needed off the last three overs, Mohammad Amir was plundered for 19 runs before he finally dismissed Samad for an 11-ball 33.

With 16 needed off 9 balls, Aamer Jamal smashed Naseem for a six with the bowler fatefully overstepping as well. Another boundary followed and Zalmi tied the scores with an over to go, following which Jamal sealed the deal with a boundary to get the 2017 champions on the board.

Brief Scores: Rawalpindi Pindiz 214/4 in 20 overs (Yasir Khan 83 off 46, Mohammad Rizwan 41 off 32, Ali Raza 2/42) lost to Peshawar Zalmi 218/5 in 19.1 overs (Mohammad Haris 47 off 28, Michael Bracewell 35* off 17, Abdul Samad 33 off 11) by 5 wickets.