Bracewell, Samad cameos help Peshawar Zalmi to successful run chase

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). In the afternoon match, Rawalpindiz decided to bat first, and openers Yasir Khan and Mohammad Rizwan got off to a flying start, proving their decision. 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. Rizwan slowed down a touch when Sufiyan Muqeem entered the attack, but Yasir soon scored fifty and continued to score boundaries on a pitch that was true to bat on. Before a 125-run opening stand ended when Rizwan mishit a wide delivery down the throat of long on, Yasir ensured that the onslaught would continue. 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. Sam Billings completed the outing, bringing Rawalpindiz's total to 214 while both batters were struck out in the slog-overs. 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. Although a wicketless Powerplay resulted in 62 runs, the subsequent slowdown had a negative impact on the asking rate. Babar was eventually out for a 28-ball 39, and the first partnership was worth 78 runs. Aaron Hardie endured a rusty 8-run middle-inning stay before Haris left shortly thereafter for 47. Although Kusal Mendis raised the bar, the asking rate still exceeded 14 percent. Zalmi needed 85 out of the final 35 balls after he was dismissed to take the strategic timeout. 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. Mohammad Amir was bowled out of the game by Samad for an 11-ball 33 with 40 runs needed in the last three overs. Aamer Jamal hit Naseem for a six with 16 balls remaining, and the bowler fatally overstepped 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.