ada Farhan. When Sultans looked settled against Michael Bracewell’s accuracy, Sufiyan Muqeem’s left-arm wrist spin prised out their middle order, including the Australian trio of Steve Smith, Josh Philippe and Ashton Turner. And just when Sultans pinned their hopes on Shan Masood’s class to orchestrate a recovery, Iftikhar returned to dismiss the Pakistan Test captain at a crucial juncture.

Sufiyan (3-30) and Iftikhar (2-32) shared five wickets between them, conceding under eight an over, as Zalmi sealed a 24-run victory — their sixth win in five completed matches, with one fixture washed out. The result consolidated Zalmi’s position at the summit of the standings while underlining the gap between the two sides. Sultans, despite staying in contention for most of the contest, never quite managed to seize control.

Opting to bowl first, Sultans were put under pressure by a commanding batting display from Kusal Mendis, whose fluent half-century propelled Zalmi to a formidable 196. Mendis, coming off a century and a fifty in his previous outings, maintained his rich vein of form with a 40-ball 68, striking three sixes and six fours. While wickets fell intermittently at the other end, the Sri Lankan remained composed, maintaining a brisk scoring rate and anchoring the innings.

He found an able partner in Pakistan U-19 captain Farhan Yousaf, with the pair adding 68 off 39 deliveries for the third wicket. Their stand revived Zalmi after early setbacks, including the dismissal of captain Babar Azam (18) and opener Mohammad Haris, who had earlier provided impetus with a brisk 38 off 17 balls, featuring three sixes and four boundaries. Farhan and Mendis came together in the ninth over with Zalmi at 73-2 and initially adopted caution against Arafat Minhas’s spin.

However, they soon shifted gears, with Farhan launching Faisal Akram for a six over mid-wicket. Mendis then asserted himself, pulling Mohammad Wasim for six behind square before displaying exquisite footwork against Arafat, striking consecutive sixes over long-off and straight down the ground. Farhan’s enterprising knock ended when he miscued an attempted big hit off Wasim, but Mendis pressed on.

A fielding lapse at deep third man allowed him two boundaries before he added another off the same bowler to take Zalmi past 150 by the 16th over. Bracewell chipped in with a six off Peter Siddle, but both he and Mendis fell in quick succession to young pacer Mohammad Ismail. Late hitting from Iftikhar, including a six and a four, ensured Zalmi finish strongly.

In reply, Sultans began briskly as Smith and Philippe powered them to 61-1 in powerplay despite the early loss of Sahibzada. Philippe was particularly fluent, twice finding the boundary off Bracewell with crisp footwork. Smith, meanwhile, broke a sequence of dot balls by ramping Nahid Rana for a boundary over the wicket-keeper.

However, his attempt to dominate Sufiyan ended in a miscued slog-sweep, offering a catch at deep mid-wicket. Sufiyan struck again two deliveries later, trapping Philippe lbw with a quicker one. Turner responded with a six to close the over, taking Sultans to 92-3 at the halfway stage.

Turner briefly counterattacked, finding gaps and boundaries against Sufiyan, but Iftikhar’s economical spell applied pressure from the other end. Sufiyan then returned to dismiss Turner, who lost his shape attempting another big hit, leaving Sultans needing 72 from the final six overs. Shan then mounted a spirited fightback.

Against Aamer Jamal, he showcased classical strokeplay, clipping through square leg, driving through covers and cutting behind point to collect consecutive boundaries. Just as Sultans appeared to regain momentum, Shan’s innings of 35 off 19 balls ended when he miscued Iftikhar to Abdul Samad at long-off. That dismissal effectively halted Sultans’ charge.

Nahid returned to remove Arafat with a sharp bouncer, while Aamer dismissed Mohammad Nawaz to all but seal the contest. From there, Zalmi tightened their grip to complete a comprehensive win, underpinned by disciplined bowling and timely breakthroughs, reaffirming their credentials as the team to beat this season. Scoreboard PESHAWAR ZALMI:Mohammad Haris c Philippe b Siddle38Babar Azam c (sub) b Nawaz18Kusal Mendis c Nawaz b Ismail 68Farhan Yousaf c Shan b Wasim 30Michael Bracewell c Shan b Ismail 14Abdul Samad not out 4Iftikhar Ahmed c Nawaz b Siddle 10Aamer Jamal not out 2 EXTRAS (B-4, LB-3, W-5) 12TOTAL (for six wickets, 20 overs) 196DID NOT BAT: Sufiyan Muqeem, Shoriful Islam, Nahid RanaFALL OF WICKETS: 1-48 (Haris), 2-72 (Babar), 3-135 (Fa