Nahid, Shoriful’s Peshawar overpower Mustafizur’s Lahore

Bangladesh bowlers combined to pick six out of 17 wickets in Saturday’s Pakistan Super League fixture which saw unbeaten Peshawar Zalmi beat Lahore Qalandars by 76 runs in Karachi, moving to the top of the eight-team table with nine points in five matches.

Asked to bat at National Stadium, the winning side posted 173 for seven as tournament’s top-scorer Kusal Mendis led the way with 74 off 48 balls, sharing a key stand with Babar Azam (43 off 40), before bundling out their opponents for 97 in 17 overs, leaving them at the sixth position with four points.

Bangladesh’s fast bowlers featured on both sides, with Mustafizur Rahman turning out for Lahore, while Nahid Rana and Shoriful Islam represented Peshawar.

Mustafizur returned two for 30 in four overs -- his best figures this PSL edition -- and was among the more controlled bowlers for Lahore. The wily pacer struck in the 19th over with a slower off-cutter to dismiss New Zealand’s Michael Bracewell, who had dispatched the over’s first ball for a six but miscued a flick to deep square for 21 off 10 deliveries.

Two balls later, Mustafizur removed Aamer Jamal with another pace-off delivery, ensuring Peshawar did not add significantly in the final overs.

In defence, Shoriful provided an early breakthrough, dismissing Mohammad Naeem in the second over with a hard-length delivery that induced a miscued shot to mid-off. The left-armer finished with one for 17 from two overs, doubling his wicket tally to two after four outings.

Soon after, Nahid made his impact in his first over -- the inning’s sixth -- removing Abdullah Shafique (21) with a short ball that hurried the batter into a pull to deep square leg, triggering a collapse as Lahore, from 43 for one, lost eight wickets for just 32 runs.

The 23-year-old speedster returned to dismiss Usama Mir with another short delivery, finishing with figures of three for 15 from three overs, including 12 dot balls. Nahid’s performance followed his spell against fourth-placed Karachi Kings, where he produced figures of 4-1-7-3, including 20 dot balls.

As of now, Mustafizur sits among the top eight wicket-takers this edition with six scalps, while Nahid, with five wickets, boasts the fifth-best strike rate and third-best average among bowlers who have delivered at least 10 overs.