KARACHI: Sufiyan Muqeem strengthened his position at the top of the bowling charts while Babar Azam completed a century of half-centuries as Peshawar Zalmi comfortably defeated Quetta Gladiators by eight wickets to seal a play-off place in the Pakistan Super League on Wednesday.

This was Zalmi’s sixth win from seven matches, putting them on 13 points with three league matches remaining. Problems compounded for 2019 champions Quetta Gladiators after their fourth defeat in six matches, leaving them in fifth position alongside Hyderabad Kingsmen and reigning champions Lahore Qalandars on four points.

Sufiyan returned figures of 4-0-25-3 and Mohammad Basit provided equal support with 4-0-36-3 as Gladiators were dismissed for 154 in 20 overs. Sufiyan now has 16 wickets from six matches, while team-mate Iftikhar Ahmed and Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi are second on 10 wickets apiece.

For Gladiators, Hasan Nawaz top-scored with a 35-ball 37 with four fours, while Rilee Rossouw celebrated becoming the first overseas player to feature in 100 PSL matches with an 18-ball 26 with four fours. Other notable run-scorers were Khawaja Nafay (20), Saud Shakeel (16), Tom Curran (15) and Shamyl Hussain (12).

In reply, Babar Azam returned unbeaten on 71 — his 100th T20 half-century — as Zalmi achieved the target for the loss of two wickets in 18.3 overs. David Warner (116), Virat Kohli (107) and Jos Buttler (100) are the other three batters to hit 100 or more 50s.

Babar added 75 runs for the first wicket off 53 balls with Mohammad Haris (35, 28b, 5×4, 1×6) and 49 runs for the second wicket off 39 balls with Kusal Mendis (21, 19b, 2×4). His innings was studded with 10 fours, reaching his fifty off 37 balls with four fours.

Mendis leads the batting charts with 330 runs from six matches, while Babar is second on 301. Sahibzada Farhan is a distant third with 249 runs.

Scores in brief:

Match 23 – Peshawar Zalmi beat Quetta Gladiators by eight wickets

QUETTA GLADIATORS 154 all-out, 20 overs (Hasan Nawaz 37, Rilee Rossouw 26, Khawaja Nafay 20, Saud Shakeel 16, Tom Curran 15; Sufiyan Muqeem 3-25, Mohammad Basit 3-36)

PESHAWAR ZALMI 156-2, 18.3 overs (Babar Azam 71 not out, Mohammad Haris 35, Kusal Mendis 21, Aaron Hardie 18 not out)

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – Sufiyan Muqeem (Peshawar Zalmi)

THURSDAY’S FIXTURES – Hyderabad Kingsmen v Rawalpindiz; Karachi Kings v Islamabad United