Special Description- The Peshawar Zalmi were pushed onto the back foot early in the inning with the dismissal of Mohammed Haris. Kusal Mendis took matters into his own hands as this was an important game, as they could move above the Karachi Kings with a victory, and the win is almost inevitable with such huge scores in T20 cricket.

The Pakistan Super League has witnessed one of the most sensational knocks by a Sri Lankan player in the tournament as Kusal Mendis scored a stunning century against the Karachi Kings. It came at a crucial time for the Peshawar Zalmi as they lost the wicket of Mohammed Haris in the first ball itself. It was the skipper, Babar Azam and Kusal Mendis, who stitched together a wonderful partnership of 191 runs. Kusal Mendis will definitely go down as one of the greatest Sri Lankan players to play in the Pakistan Super League, and he has etched his name in the record book.

The Peshawar Zalmi are on an unbeaten run, and they have put up yet another stunning batting performance to keep their winning streak going. In this encounter against the Karachi Kings, it was an important match as they sit above the Peshawar Zalmi by 1 point, and the winner of this game will move to the 3rd position in the points table. The responsibility of the Peshawar batting unit was taken up by their skipper, Babar Azam and the centurion, Kusal Mendis.

 

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Mendis-Babar masterclass powers Zalmi to massive total after early setback

In the 17th Match of the Pakistan Super League between the Peshawar Zalmi and the Karachi Kings at the National Stadium Karachi, the Kings won the toss and elected to field first. The pitch looked quite good to bat on, but dew was expected to come in play in the 2nd innings. Khushdil Shah bowled the first over, and off the very first ball, he dismissed the wicketkeeper opener, Mohammed Haris. The Peshawar Zalmi were put in a spot of bother as they lost their opener in the very first ball, and the momentum shifted towards the Karachi Kings with the dream ball to start the innings.

However, the early wicket of Haris didn’t bother Kusal Mendis and Babar Azam as they put on a phenomenal batting performance. Kusal Mendis failed to deliver in the first two games for his side and was under pressure to prove his worth. With a chance to go a place higher in the table with a victory, Mendis picked his moment perfectly. Kusal Mendis scored 109 off 52 balls, including 14 fours and 4 sixes, at a strike rate of almost 210. He became the first-ever Sri Lankan batter to score a century in the PSL and made sure that the Peshawar Zalmi made the right choice in picking him. His innings was well complemented by Babar Azam at the other end, as he scored 87 off 51 balls, including 10 fours and 2 sixes, at a strike rate of 171. The Peshawar Zalmi were powered to a total of 246 after the 20 overs, credit to the power-packed cameo of Abdul Samad, scoring 40 off just 12 balls, including 3 boundaries and 4 sixes, at a strike rate of 333.33.

The Peshawar Zalmi would be confident that they can win this match as they have posted a mammoth total on board, and it would take something out of the ordinary for Karachi Kings to chase down such a huge total. Kusal Mendis has been the star of the day so far,r and he will be a player that will be closely watched by the opposition teams in the upcoming games.